War Machine
by BlueEyedWolf33
Summary: SEQUEL TO THUNDERSTRUCK. I know she's on the news almost every night. She's out there somewhere. It's been six months since she left. For awhile, it was quiet. But that was only the calm before the storm. I don't know if she knows what she's doing because they are only getting worse. I hope she can control herself. She's one of the main reasons I can't sleep. I miss Sammy. Thor/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Third Person's POV**

_We create our own demons. Who said that, what does it even mean? Doesn't matter. I said it cause he said it. He was famous and it is basically being said by two well known guys. I don't... Uh... I'm gonna start again..._

_Let's track this from the beginning._

The noise maker went off in the younger Stark's face, the beautiful woman before him smiling brightly which caused him to smile back just as enthusiastically at her. Now, he may or may not have been slightly intoxicated which would have explained his future actions which were of course, bad decisions.

"Half hour til the ball drops..." Happy, Stark's body guard, warned the both of them, and in return, Tony simply ignored him.

"Tony Stark! Great speech man!" A shorter gentleman approached the three of them and patted the young billionaire on the back. Tony's face scrunched with confusion, the alcohol clearly inhibiting his memories. Plus, he didn't know the kid.

"I gave a speech? How was it?"

"Terrifying..." Happy said, ushering the man away from his boss. It was his job after all.

"Unintelligible!" Maya added with a smile while taking a hold of Tony's arm to keep from falling over in her drunken stupor.

"Really!? It's my favorite kind, a winning combo!" Taking the woman by the arm, Stark began to lead her away. He had... Well, he had other ideas.

"Where are we going?"

"To town on each other, probably back in your room cause I want to see your research!"

"Okay, you can see my research but, I'm not going to show you my... _town_!" He continued to drag her along by the arm, desperate to see her breakthrough in her field of research that she was doing. What was it again? He wasn't sure but he knew it was important.

"Mr. Stark!" An unknown man called his name again, drawing Tony's attention away from the dark haired woman at his side. The taller man approached him and held out his hand for Stark to shake.

"Ho Yinsen!" The man introduced himself to the billionaire who smiled and nodded.

"Hey, I finally met a man called Ho!" Stark completely ignored the man for a moment before looking back to the dark haired woman and smiling enthusiastically. Oh, he could be so childish.

"I would like to introduce you to our guest, Doctor Wu!" He gestured to an Asian man who was dressed in a fine suit.

"Oh, this guy!"

"Mr. Stark..." He shook hands with the shorter Asian man. He greeted Tony in his own language and Stark didn't care to really respond. It was partly the alcohol's fault. Also because he didn't understand Chinese or Korean or whatever country he was from...

"You're a heart doctor! Maya might need a cardiologist after we..." _Honk. Honk. Honk._ _Honk_. The young Stark blew air into the noise maker hanging from his mouth, a boyish grin on his face at the implication. Without another thought, Tony took Maya by the arm.

"Perhaps another time..." Ho said quietly as they walked away. Stark was known to be rude but he was the man with all the money and women. Tony wasn't interested in the two of them. He had other things in mind.

_It all started in Bern, Switzerland, 1999 on New Year's Eve. The old days. Never thought they would come back to bite me. Why would they? I was a stupid kid back then. I made a lot of terrible mistakes. And when I say a lot, I mean _a lot_. _

"Hey, Tony!" Stark turned around upon hearing his name said for probably the millionth time that night. And he certainly hoped it wouldn't be the last, if you understand that sort of thing. "Aldrich Killian! I'm a big fan of your work!" Probably one of the most repulsive human beings on the face of the planet stood before the billionaire.

"My work?" The woman grasping Tony's arm squeaked in surprise. She was a bit tipsy as well.

"Who is he? He means me!" Stark interjected, positive that this man was definitely wanting to speak about his great work and not his, well... girlfriend's.

"Of course but Miss Hansen, my organization has been following your research since year 2 at MIT!" The little man was able to duck under Happy's arm, much to Tony's dismay, and entered the small elevator.

"Oh we made the cut!" He announced unhappily. It was definitely packed inside the small space.

"What floor are you going to pal?" Happy asked the scientist.

"Well, that it an appropriate question!" The little nerd snickered and Tony began to grumble under his breath. The man was grating on his nerves. "I'm going to the ground floor actually! I have a proposal I'm putting together myself! It's a privately funded think-tank, Advanced Idea of Mechanics!" He held two business cards out to Tony who simply looked at them for a moment. He didn't like having things handed to him.

"She'll take both!" Stark insisted. "One to throw away and one to not... call."

"Advanced Idea of Mechanics or A.I.M for short! Do you get it?" Tony couldn't help the venomous smile that pulled back his lips.

"I see that, cause it's on your t-shirt!" It was at this time that the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

"Ladies, follow the mullet!" Happy walked from the elevator with a cluster of balloons in his hands. "Ladies first!" Stark insisted and used his hand to block the path of the little scurvy nerd. The women all filled out of the small space, leaving the two men alone inside.

"Thank you! I'll call you!" Maya said as she followed with the other girls behind Happy.

"I'm titillated by the notion of working with you..." Tony grumbled down to him. He could feel his mood significantly darken. Killian tried to begin speaking again before Tony cut him off. "I'll see you on the roof in five minutes..." He pressed the top floor button on the wall beside them. "I'm just gonna try to get my beak wet if you know what I'm talking about!"

"Okay, I'll see you up there!"

"Damn betcha!" Stark said before the doors closed between them and the elevator began to climb up the building.

* * *

"Come on! I thought that was just a theory!"

"Ah, it was! If I'm right, we can access the part of the brain that governs repair and chemically re-code it..."

"That's incredible!" Tony said as he looked down at the computer demonstration she had set up before him. It truly was a remarkable thing that she was doing. "Basically, you're hacking into the genetic operating system of a living organism..."

"Exactly!" She said before glancing back at Happy. He was, oddly enough, playing with her plant. "Can you not touch my plant?"

"Why?"

"It's not... She doesn't like it..." Maya said quietly and Happy looked very confused for a moment.

"She's not like the others!" Stark said before flipping through a few more pages of research. "Come on, let's go into the bedroom!" He picked up her computer and carried it with me back into the bedroom. "Leave her ficus alone!" Tony warned him once more. "So you're starting with plants?"

"For now, yeah. I'm calling it Extremis..." However, they were both unaware that Happy had ripped off part of the plant and tossed it back inside out of childish anger which cause a problem in about five minutes.

"Well, it's human application..." They said at the same time and Stark was still so amazed with her breakthrough. It really was something.

"Exactly!" She beamed and he couldn't say anything else, just shake my head.

"It's revolutionary!" He finally managed to say, still in wonder about what this wonderful woman was doing with her research. If she continued on the path she was on, the medical field would be changed entirely. It may be eradicated all together!

"Revitalization, disease prevention, and even limb regrowth!"

"You're the most gifted woman I've ever met..."

"Wow."

"... In Switzerland..."

"That's better!" She smiled before reaching up and carefully taking the sunglasses off of his face. He tensed at that. No body ever touched his glasses. "You're saying sweet things..." She said as she slipped them onto her own face.

"You almost bought it didn't you?!" He laughed at himself before looking at her behind his own glasses. She looked quite sexy in them now that he thought about it. They both slowly leaned forward, their lips barely touching when suddenly, there was an explosion in her room.

They both turned to look at it to see that smoke came filtering through the doorway.

"This is what I'm talking about! The glitch!" She murmered. Next thing Tony knew, he was being tackled onto the bed by none other than his body guard.

"Stay down!" He whispered into Stark's ear and he froze immediately. Now, if it was from fear or the fact that a 250 pound man had me pinned down to a bed, he wasn't sure.

"We're good..." Tony murmured quietly, still in shock. "You're right on me..." Happy slowly got off when he was sure that the coast was clear. Tony still lay startled on the bed as Happy got to his feet, pushing his mullet back from his face.

"It's a glitch in my work..." Maya said from the other side of the bed, a smile on her face upon seeing what had just happened.

"We were just talking about it..." Tony said, still lying frozen on the mattress. He could hear people counting down outside and he happened to glance at the clock on the wall. "Hey!" They both looked at him. "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!" Maya told the both of them.

"Hey, I'll see you in the morning!" Happy reached out and shook his boss's hand.

"Are you good?" He asked, concern written across his face.

"Yep. I'm good..." Tony held up his hands to show that he was fine. Happy left, leaving the two of them alone in the room together, much to Stark's delight.

However, he had forgotten one very small and insignificant problem. Or rather, it would be small and significant at the time but later come back to bite him in the ass like his problems always did.

_So why am I telling you this? Because I had just created demons. And I didn't even know it. Yeah, those were good times. Then I moved on. After a brief swuaree in an Afghan cave, I said goodbye to the party scene, forgot that night in Switzerland. These days, I'm a changed man. I'm different now. I'm well... You know who I am._

"Forty-seven... Sir, may I suggest a few hours to re-calibrate?"

"Nope. Forty-eight! _OW_!" Tony said through the bloody paper towel in his mouth. He pulled the injection gun back from his skin to reveal the small bloody marks. "Micro repeater implanting complete!" He wiped the blood from his arms.

"As you wish, sir. I've also prepared a safety briefing for you to entirely ignore..."

"Which I will..." He tossed the paper towel into the garbage. The idiotic machine in his garage continued to sweep the garbage on the floor, a dunce hat placed upon his robotic head. "Alright. Let's do this... Dummy! Hi, Dummy! How'd you get that cap on your head? You earned it..." The machine seemed to ignore him and returned to sweeping. "Hey!" He ignored Stark again. Tony stood up and dealt a swift couple of blows to his sparing dummy as he passed by. "Hey! What are you doing out of the corner? You know what you did! Blood on my mat, handle it!" He pointed back at his sparing circle.

"Sir, may I remind you that you have been awake for nearly 72 hours?" J.A.R.V.I.S. warned him but Stark completely ignored him and looked directly into the camera that another one of his machines was holding.

"Focus up ladies!" He turned to the other suits that were lined up along the wall. "Good evening and welcome to the birthing suite! I'm pleased to announce the imminent arrival of your bouncing, bad-ass, baby brother!" Stark turned to the camera and gave it a few directions of what he wanted it to do. "Mark 42 Autonomous prehence self-propulsion suit test! Initialize sequence!" Tony tapped his fingers together, hoping that he would get this thing to work. It was a crazy idea.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., drop my needle!" He commanded and it wasn't a second longer and the Christmas music began to play. Tony slowly began to boogie, his hips swinging back and forth, completely aware of the fact that he was being tapped. He had always had a thing for Christmas music.

He used to remember that she would always get so pissy when he would play it... _No. Not right now. Mark 42. Don't think about her. _He told himself.

"_Dashing through the snow, on a one horse open slay. Over the fields we go_..." He poised his arms, ready for the pieces of the suit to come at him. Yet, nothing happened. Disappointment flooded into him but he wasn't done yet. Striking a pose again, nothing else happened. "Crap..." Stark bit the repeater in his arm before smacking it. Something must be off. Probably the calibration.

Striking a pose for the final time, he was relieved when the left glove slowly lifted off the table before quickly attaching itself to his hand. The shoulder plate soon followed. The other hand came after that and Tony was laughing with glee.

"Alright! We got this, send them all!" Stark was a bit cocky now that he thought back on it but hey, he just got his newest suit to work. One leg attacked itself before another piece missed entirely and crashed through the glass of Mark IV's case, knocking it's head clean off. Oops. A third piece flew at his head but Stark was able to deflect it, sending it flying into a light fixture. "Probably a little fast... Slow it down! Slow it down just a-a little bit..." He had to duck out of the way of another flying projectile.

The second leg was able to find its place but he was nearly thrown off the platform when the crotch protector found it's correct spot. His hands instinctively flew to that area.

When he wasn't paying attention, Tony was nearly knocked forward by the force of the metallic spinal column but he used the thrusters in his hand to steady himself. The suit was starting to come together, the chest plate covering his front, finally. However, the record player was destroyed as the face mask crashed into it. The frisky piece of metal looked threatening as it slowly floated towards him.

"Come on! I'm not scared of you!" However, the piece of metal seemed too preoccupied with attacking Tony that it was flipped upside down after running into a table. Seeing this happen, the metal raced towards his face and Stark had to quickly flip upside down the catch it, landing solidly on his feet with his arm to steady himself on the raised platform.

"I'm the best..." Stark said to himself as the suit's systems began to boot up. However, something seemed to be missing and as the final piece flew from Mark IV's case and shot into him, the entire thing fell apart upon impact with the smooth garage floor. Tony landed roughly on the ground and he lay there for a moment. The Iron Man helmet was still attached to his head and he ripped the face mask off before sitting up on his rear with a groan.

_And I guess that 72 hours is a long time between siestas. Didn't think it could get any worse. Then I had to go and turn on the TV. That's when he happened._

"_Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher_..." Were his chilling words. Tony wasn't going to go into much more detail about that man, considering all the crap he put the older Stark through. "_You know who I am. You don't know where I am... And you'll never see me coming_..." That was when the transmission ended.

* * *

**And there's the first chapter of the second edition of Sam's story! Sam won't appear for a while so that is why this is deemed an Iron Man 3 story. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Just drop a review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from you guys.**

**Oh, and I have to put this in here:**

**I DON'T OWN IRON MAN OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH MARVEL COMICS. I ONLY OWN SAM AND MY PLOT ALTERATIONS. **

**Anyway, review please!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	2. Chapter 2

"_And they renamed him Iron Patriot, you know, if the paint was too subtle_..." The woman on TV was poking fun at Stark's machine and the corner of his lip rose in a snear. Tony had to admit, it was kinda dorky.

"It tested well with focus groups, alright?" Rhodey sat beside beside him, trying to reassure the angry man that people actually liked that name. Tony sure as hell didn't.

"I am Iron Patriot!" His voice lowered itself as he tried to make himself more menacing when saying it. It just didn't sound as good as War Machine.

"War Machine was a little to aggressive, alright? This sends a better message..."

"So what's really going on? The Mandarin? Seriously, can we talk about this guy?" Stark lowered his voice, glancing around to see if there were some people listening in on his conversation.

"It's classified information, Tony! Okay, there have been 9 bombings..." Rhodey scooted closer to him and he leaned his head toward Tony.

"Nine?" Stark could feel his eyes widen. His mind suddenly flashed back to the events of last Christmas. The avalanche. The ski resort. Had that been a Mandarin attack? All those months ago, had the attacks started?

"The public only knows about three... But, here's the thing: Nobody can I.D. a device. There's no bomb casings!"

"You know I can help! Just ask! I got a ton of new tech! I've got a bomb disposal, catches bombs midair!"

"When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

"Einstein slept three hours a year. Look what he _did_!"

"I'm concerned about you, Tony. I'm concerned about you."

"You're going to come at me like that?"

"No! Look, I'm not trying to be a dic-" A few kids came up to their table then. "-tator..."

"Do you mind signing my drawing?!" The older girl asked, holding out a picture of Tony. Well, Iron Man. Same thing.

"If Richard doesn't mind, are you alright with this, Dick?" Tony could feel his lips twitch up at his own joke but he took the crayon from the girl's hand. "What's your name?"

"Erin!"

Looking down to the little boy beside him, Tony eyed his overly large glasses that were huge on his small face. "I loved you in a Christmas Story by the way..."

"Listen, the Pentagon is scared. After New York, aliens, come on! They need to look strong. Stopping the Mandarin is priority but it's not-"

"It's not superhero business..."

"No, it's not quite frankly! It's America's business..."

"It's why I said..." _Snap_. The crayon in his fingers broke. Shit. With a heavy sigh, Tony let his face fall into his open hand.

"You okay?" Rhodey asked quietly, apparently seeing his distress.

"I broke the crayon..."

"Are you okay, Mr. Stark?" The little girl ask. No, he was not okay. He definitely wasn't okay.

"Take it easy..." Rhodey warned him, patting his shoulder with his hand. It seemed as though Stark's heart froze in his chest for a moment as his eyes suddenly blurred a little. He couldn't breathe.

"How'd you get out of the wormhole?" The little boy beside him whispered into his ear. Oh, yep. That set him off. The air instantly left his lungs and Tony felt his heart rate pick up immediately. Shoving his chair away from the table, he quickly got to his feet. He needed air. He NEEDED AIR.

The distressed Stark quickly made his way outside and the next thing he knew he was shoving people out of his way to get to the suit that he had used to reach the restaurant. Once it got in sight, Tony felt a bit more relaxed when it opened and beckoned him to come inside. When the metal closed around him, he felt his breathing return to normal as he sank down onto one knee.

"Check the heart! Check the, check the... Is it the brain?" He asked, still struggling to control his racing heartbeat.

"No sign of cardiac anomaly or any unusual brain activity."

"So I was poisoned?"

"My diagnosis is that you've experienced a severe anxiety attack."

"ME?" He squeaked, the thought completely absurd. Who in their right mind believed that he would have a PANIC ATTACK? He didn't panic. He was Tony Stark. Tony Stark was always level headed and cool.

_Ping. Ping. Ping._

"Come on, man! This isn't a good look, open up!" Rhodey knocked on the metallic helmet.

"Sorry, I gotta split!" Stark heaved a sigh of relief before pushing him back so that he could straighten up. Without a second thought, he engaged the thrusters and went soaring off into the sky. What was wrong with him?

Okay, he had to admit that ever since that fateful day, he's been having issues... _coping_. Yeah, that was a good word. Ever since _that day_, things had been different around, well, everywhere. It had been quiet in the house. Stark Tower's remodeling had all but ceased. Tony was just glad that the damn dog was gone.

But still on that day,_ that one day_, he didn't cope as well as he should have been. And you know what made it worse? She had never told him, never _warned_ him, never even _mentioned_ the significance of that one day. All she wanted him to do was finish the circuitry on that damn machine in the garage. And he couldn't even give her that one little thing. Because on _that one day_ that she left, it was her birthday.

And what made it worse: Mark 42's self propulsion feature was her idea, too.

* * *

_"Hey, Tony!" Sam walked into the garage after coming down the staircase. Inputting her code into the lock, she pulled open the glass door and came walking in. The dark haired Stark had been working on repairing a few minor details on the arm of his newest suit, Mark 39. It's was different than the other suits. It was a sub orbital suit. The paint was white and on more than one occasion, Sam had said that she liked it. Tony hadn't taken the hint yet. Stark lifted the dark goggles off his eyes upon hearing her greeting._

_"Sammy!" He smiled at her._

_"What are you working on?" Sam came to stand beside the long table and looked down at the white and gold suit. It was her favorite._

_"I'm just trying to finish this suit. I've already finished Mark 40 and 41..." He pointed to two more long tables that had similar iron suits lying upon them. Why had he finished 40 and 41 before 39? _

_Feeling the curiosity over come her, she approached the other two suits. They weren't as eye catching as Mark 39. In fact, they were both rather dull looking. One didn't even look finished._

_"You think of a name yet?"_

_"Yeah, Mark 40 is Shotgun and 41 is Bones..." She looked down at the silver bot before her eyes shifted over to the other suit that seemed to be skeletal and almost unfinished._

_"I was talking about 39 but that's alright..."_

_"Oh, Mark 39 is Gemini!"_

_"Gemini? What does he do? He looks like he's prepared for space travel..."_

_"That's because he is..." She simply stopped and looked at Tony in surprise. She could see some of the hidden pain that lay behind his dark irises. He was still having a hard time learning to adjust to what had happened in New York. He had nightmares._

_She now understood the reasoning behind the invention of a sub orbital suit. It was because of the worm hole. His other suits weren't designed to maneuver in zero gravity environments. He was covering his tail again. What happened in New York terrified him._

_After a moment of simply watching Tony work on the nearly complete suit, a question bubbled to the front of her mind._

_"So now that you've got 41 done... What are you going to do for Mark 42?" She took a seat on the stainless steel table beside the white suit. Tony barely glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his attention focused on the complex wiring before him._

_"Don't know."_

_"First of all, what _haven't_ you done?"_

_"Don't know."_

_"Well, that's reassuring!" She grumbled to herself before leaning back, picking up a stray tool as she went. __"You know, you could always make the suit like, break apart and come to you or something... Like self propulsion or some shit like that..." She fumbled with the stray tool before simply holding it in her hand while looking around the room. Something was burning and it wasn't the wire Tony was working on. "Are you cooking something?"_

_"Yeah, the lasagna is in the oven..." Stark faded out of his sentence as he lifted his head, his nostrils flaring as he smelt the air. "Shit!" He cried before racing for the stairs, throwing all his gear off as he went. _

_"Oh we're having lasagna!" She cried in delight as she leaned back against Mark 39. In her excitement, electrical sparks from her hand accidentally warmed the metal and she squeezed, crushing the steel and leaving her finger indentions in the once perfect tool. With a quiet, 'Shit!' Sam placed the tool back in the same place, hoping Tony wouldn't notice. "Well, I guess we were having lasagna..." _

_"WHAT?!" Tony called from upstairs. Sam heard the shuffling of feet before Tony came stumbling back down the stairs, a pan of burnt lasagna in his hands. _

_"I said it looks like we were having lasagna...?"_

_"No, the part before that!" He exclaimed, tossing the burnt pan of food onto the table beside Mark 40. Sam rolled her eyes. His brain worked like that though. It listened to the details but they didn't register until later. It was later. __"Sammy, what did you say?"_

_"I said, what if you could make it like self propulsion or some thing like that? You know, so you could use parts of it without wearing the whole suit?"_

_"And?" Tony shut his eyes as if envisioning the blueprints that very moment. He brought his hands up to his chin in thought, his lips pressing against his fingers in a steeple. _

_"And..." Her eyes darted back and forth as she felt the gears in her brain turning. He could see the plans being drawn up in her head. "And... You could control it without being inside it?"_

_"YES!" His eyes burst open and he grabbed her face in his hands. He squished her cheeks together in excitement, making her look like a fish. Sam just stared nervously at the excited Stark, knowing that she may have started something terrible that she could possible regret in the future. "Sammy?"_

_"What?"_

_"You're brilliant."_

_"You aren't telling me anything new..."_

_"I could kiss you right now!"_

_"Please don't."_

* * *

_But then there was also the fact that I changed the channel on the TV._

"_The Virgin Islands were struck by a massive Category 5 hurricane last night. Civilians hardly had an hours warning, the large storm seeming to appear out of thin air. Hundreds of destroyed homes were left in its huge wake. No trees remain on any of the small islands and environmentalist groups are already planning to ship trees into the Islands_..."

The next channel.

"_Massive rain has occurred in the Midwest, causing catastrophic flooding. People have had to be evacuated but no deaths are reported so far_..." A video taken from a helicopter played across the TV. Houses were washing down stream. Fields were flooded and crops were destroyed.

Next.

"_A whole family of tornadoes ripped through Kansas_..."

Next.

"_New Mexico and Arizona were hit with a blizzard last night. People still don't understand the odd occurrence_..."

Next.

"_A set of explosions have gone off deep down on the tectonic plates. The government believes that this is one of the Mandarin's attacks. The explosions also seemed to cause an earthquake which nearly caused the entire state of California to break away and drift off into the ocean. That very same earthquake caused a tsunami that nearly struck Japan. However, a miracle seemed to happen_." He stopped upon hearing about the Mandarin.

The footage changed to show a huge frozen glacier right off the coastline of the small island. People had gathered to see the strange phenomena while others were still running about panicking in case another wave struck.

"_What did you see last night_?" The reporting news must have been lucky to find an American who had been vacationing on the island at the time.

"_Man, I don't even know how to describe it! Like, all I saw was the tsunami coming and then there was this really bright blueish white light_..." The footage of the man was replaced by the footage from a cell phone. A huge wave was racing towards the shore. However, a sudden, white light seemed to start in the center of the wave before it concentrated further before it flashed again and a huge shock wave was sent off of the light, causing the water to freeze and the camera to shake wildly in the strong winds.

"_The only explanation that scientists can come up with is that someone stopped this. And who you might ask stopped this? Most conspirators have proposed theories about the savior being none other than Samantha Greene. However, no sightings of Greene has been reported in Japan. When asking Tony Stark, one of Greene's acquaintances on the Avengers team, he politely declined the interview. Now, if Greene didn't save Japan... Then who did_?"

_I had been working in the garage at that point. Basically, the entire news was talking about Sam. These odd weather occurrences had been happening ever since she had left. I didn't know what was happening. At first, the hurricanes would spin themselves out in the middle of the Southern Ocean. But then, they started to hit home. I hadn't heard from her in months. None of the team had. She just dropped off the face of the Earth. It was like she never existed._

_I didn't know where she was and I was concerned._

* * *

**Second chapter is out! Yeah, yeah! Thanks to all who reviewed and liked what I've written so far! **

**I'm going to try and space out my updated because I don't actually have that much written so again, the next update might be in a few days. Why am I updating now?**

**Because I was so excited! **

**Thanks again!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello?"

"Is this forehead of security?" Tony called Happy upon on his tablet and was currently looking at his receding hairline instead of his face. The billionaire could only shake his head before letting his head fall into his hands. Happy would never learn.

"What? You know, look, I've got a real job now! What do you want? I'm working, got something going on here..."

"What? Harassing a terrorist?"

"Let me tell you something. When I tell people that I was Iron Man's bodyguard, they laugh in my face! I had to leave while I still had a shred of dignity! Now I got a real job! I'm watching Pepper!"

"Yeah, tell me what's going on? Fill me in..." Tony walked down the stairs to his large whine cellar, Mark 42 slowly sinking down into the vault as he went. Glancing down inside, he took account of all the other suits and nodded as he confirmed that they were in place.

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, so she's meeting up with this scientist, rich guy. Handsome. I couldn't make his face at first, right, you know I'm good with faces-"

"Oh, yeah. You're the best."

"Anyway, so I run his credentials. Aldrich Killian. We actually met the guy back in... Where were we in 1999? The Science conference?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tony turned the small screen towards him as he sat down in an old armchair. "Switzerland!"

"Right! Exactly!"

"Killian? No, I don't remember that guy..." Stark wrinkled his nose up slightly at the memory. It wasn't one of his most pleasant experiences. But, wait. Had he heard Happy right? _Handsome_? If anything this Aldrich Killian was not a handsome man at all.

"Course you don't, he's not a blonde with a big rack. First, he was fine. They were talking business but now it's getting weird. He's showing her his big brain..."

"HIS WHAT?"

"Big. Brain. And she likes it. Here, let me show ya..." Tony could tell that Happy simply lifted the tablet up, the camera still facing the same way. Tony rubbed a hand over his face before sighing. "Look... See?"

"Look at what? You watching them? Flip the screen and then we can get started..." He motioned to flip the screen around but Happy was getting frustrated. He hated technology just about as much as Tony hated being responsible.

"I'm not a technology genius like you! Just trust me, get down here!"

"Flip the screen! Then I can see what they're doing..."

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLIP THE SCREEN! Don't talk to me like that anymore, you're not my boss, alright? I don't work for you..." Tony opened up a new screen just upon where Happy's face was. Examining the man named Kilian, he frowned. This guys just felt... bad. Bad aura. Bad eyes. Bad everything. "I don't trust this guy. He's got another guy with him, he's shifty..."

"Relax..."

"Seriously?"

"I'm just asking you to secure the perimeter, tell him to go out for a drink or something..."

"You know what? You should take more interest in what's going on here! This woman is the best thing that's ever happened to you and now you're just ignoring her!" Tony sat back for a moment, actually considering Happy's words. Maybe he wasn't paying enough attention to Pepper lately. He had been busy with... other things.

"A giant brain?" Stark asked.

"A giant brain! There's a shifty character! I'm going to follow this guy! I'm going to run his plates and if it gets rough so be it!" Tony was too preoccupied choosing a whine bottle from one of the refrigerated units in the cellar to care.

"I miss you, Happy..."

"Yeah, I miss you too! But the way it used to be! Now you're off with the super friends and I don't know what's going on with you anymore, alright? The world's getting weird..."

"I hate to cut you off... Do you have your taser on you? I think there's a gal in HR trying to steal some printer ink. You should probably go over there and... zap her."

"Nice." Tony put the communication device into the empty whine rack before shutting the door, leaving it in the refrigeration unit.

* * *

Running about the house, Tony had to prepare for Pepper's arrival home. However, it turned out he had other plans in mind.

When Pepper did arrive home, she gazed up in shock at the large rabbit that towered over her and her car. Sighing and leaning heavily on the vehicle, she shook her head in frustration. Tony had been getting weird lately.

"I'm sorry I'm late I was-What the? What is that?" She came walking in the door and seeing Tony in his suit, sitting seductively on the couch, his fingers drumming on the back rest. "You're wearing this in the house now? What is that like Mark 15?"

The suit looked down at the print on the back of his bicep. Yeah, hit was far from 15. "Uh, yeah. Something like that. You know everybody needs a hobby!"

"Oh and you have to wear your hobby in the living room?"

"Just breaking it in. You know it's always a little pinchy in the gooey bag at first so..." Pepper laughed at his antics as she took a seat in one of the soft chairs. "Well, hey! Did you see your Christmas present?"

"Yes I did. I-I don't know how I could have missed that Christmas present... Is it going to fit through the door?"

"Well, actually, that is a good question. I gotta a team of guys coming tomorrow to blow out that wall... So, uh, tense? Good day, huh?" Tony stepped forward and began to message his girlfriend's shoulders. "Oh, shoulders! A little naughty. Naughty girl! I don't wanna harp on this but did you like the custom rabbit?"

"Did I like it?" Pepper hesitated for a moment, letting the question sit. How was she going to answer.

"Nailed it right?"

"Wow. I appreciate the thought very much..." She stood up from her chair and came up to Tony, her hands sliding up the suit. "So why don't you lift up that face mask and give me a kiss?"

"Bop. Beep. Beep. Bop!" Tony tapped his fist on the helmet, signalling that it was stuck. "Yep, damn it! No can do! You wanna just... kiss it on the facial slit?"

"Well, why don't I run down to the garage and see if I can't find a crowbar to jimmy that thing open?" She began to walk towards the stairs. Tony began to panic. Things weren't going as he thought they would.

"Crowbar, yeah... Oh! Except there's been a-a radiation leak!"

"I'll take my chances..."

"That's risky! Let me at least get you like a haz-mask suit, Geiger counter, something like that..." Pepper came down the steps to find Tony doing pull ups while watching the news. "Busted."

"This is a new level of lame!" Pepper pushed away a machine that was offering her a tray of fresh fruit.

"Sorry."

"You ate without me? Already, on date night?" Pepper couldn't believe that Tony had eaten without her.

"He was just-" Tony pointed at the empty suit.

"You mean you?"

"Well, yeah. We were just... just hosting you while I finished up a little work. And yes I had a quick bite! I didn't know if you were coming home or going out for drinks with Aldrich Killian..." The suit turned to look at her accusingly.

"What?" She snapped at the suit who shook it's head before walking away.

"What?" Tony asked, completely unsure about what he did wrong. He was just keeping track of Pepper. He wasn't going to lose her again after he had only gotten her back.

"Aldrich Killian? What?! Are you checking up on me?"

"Happy was concerned. I wasn't-"

"I'm going to bed..." She began to walk back up the stairs, leaving Tony alone. He began to panic again. Things had been getting difficult between the two of them lately. He had been... focused a lot lately.

"Come on, Pep! Hey, I admit it! My fault! Sorry. I'm a pipping hot mess. It's been going on for awhile. I haven't said anything. Nothing's been the same since New York... And since Sam left..."

"Oh, Tony... Don't bring her into this and don't think I didn't notice... at all."

"You experience things then they're over and you still can't explain them? Gods, aliens, other dimensions? I-I'm just a man in a can. Sam understood that. The only reason I haven't cracked up is probably because you moved in which is great. I love you. I'm lucky! But, honey. I can't sleep! You go to bed, I come down here. I do what I know! I tinker. Threat is imminent and I have to protect that one thing that I can't live without... That's you. My suit's they're, uh-"

"Machines..."

"They're a part of me-"

"A distraction..." The words stung when Pepper said them, almost like she had been a distraction when it came to spending time with Sam.

"Maybe." The woman came walking over to the distressed Stark. He looked up at her before sighing and dropping his head to her chest. Her hands carefully rubbed his neck and ran through his hair, offering him nice comfort. Pulling the new suit tech from his face, she smiled down at him.

"I'm going to take a shower..." Pepper released him and he nodded, a bit disappointed that the snuggling was done. It was always nice for him to have human contact when he worked with machines all day. She began to walk away before she called back to him. "And you're going to join me!" Tony nearly fell off the small cart he was seated on before nodding his head.

"Better."

"Sir?"

"Yes, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"I believe that the paint job for Mark 0 is done, sir..." Thinking back to the suit, he nodded his head. It was entirely different than the other suits he have ever built. It was extremely special and it was built specially for the person it was intended for. He had been working on it for months now and it was finally finished.

"Alright, put it in the vault with the others but have it on standby..."

"Yes, sir."

"Tony?"

"Yeah, babe?" Pepper called from upstairs.

"Shower, now."

"Yes, babe."

* * *

That night, Tony and Pepper were lying in bed. For the first few minutes, it was fine. Until the nightmares started happening. Flashbacks from New York began to pour into his head, causing him to spasm in his sleep.

The wormhole. The aliens. The missile. Not reaching Pepper on the phone. Falling. Then more falling.

However, that wasn't the only thing haunting his dreams.

_"Goodbye, Stark..." Her hazel eyes were locked on the ground, not even giving him a second glance. She couldn't even look at him. Tony felt himself falling apart inside at the tone of her voice. She was done carrying. She was done with everything. _

_"Sammy, please!" She didn't even have time to listen to his reasoning. Instead, her feet lifted from the ground and he watched as she zoomed out of the garage through the underground tunnel. Papers flew into the air before fluttering back to the ground around the dazed Stark. What had he just done?_

Hearing a sudden scream, Tony's eyes bolted open, leaving his nightmares locked away in his mind for the moment. When he awoke, he saw Mark 42 all in one piece, it's hand clamped around Pepper's arm as if it were protecting him from her.

Kicking the covers off, Stark stood and held his hands out. "Power down!" He commanded it before bringing his hands together and karate chopping it. The suit fell to pieces on the floor. Both Pepper and Tony were a bit shaken and were breathing heavily.

"I-I must have called him in my sleep... That-That's not supposed to happen. I calibrated the sensors. Can we just-Let me just catch my breath! Don't go alright? Pepper..." He watched as the red head climbed from their bed, her eyes wide and full of disbelief.

"I'm going to sleep downstairs!" She breathed before rushing from the room. "Tinker with that!" She disappeared, leaving Tony alone in his room to deal with his own problems. He let his head fall down into his hands.

Everything was falling apart around him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

* * *

Upon hearing the Mandarin's report on the explosion at the Chinese Theater, Tony had been sitting up in his bed, still shaken from the event with Pepper the night before.

His black iPhone also rang and he picked it up. Feeling his heart stop beating he, quickly told the dispatch that he would be right there before he quickly got dressed before climbing in his Audi and rushing to the hospital.

Happy was a mess when Stark walked in. He was hooked up to all types of machines. However, the nurses said that he would be fine once he recovered. Sitting with him for a few hours, Tony was watching TV when the nurse walked in and was about to turn it off.

"Hi..." He said quietly, startling the nurse.

"Oh!"

"Mind leaving that on?"

"S-Sure..."

"Sunday night's PBS, Downton Abbey... That's his show. He thinks it's elegant..." He glanced over at his friend, feeling anger and remorse wash over him. "One more thing. Make sure everyone wears their badges. He's a stickler for that sort of thing plus my guys won't let anyone in..." Stark assured the slightly startled woman who simply nodded before he turned to leave.

Coming out of the hospital, he was bombarded by cameras and reporters. Of course, being Tony Stark, he ignored them.

"Hey, Mr. Stark? When is somebody gonna kill this guy?" That one certain question stopped him from climbing into his Audi. Turning and looking directly at the man who asked the question, he felt his blood boil. "Just saying..."

"Is that what you want? Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you! I know you're a coward! So, I've decided..." He pulled his sunglasses from his face. "That you just died, pal. I'm going to come and get the body. There's no politics here just good old fashioned revenge. No Pentagon. It's just you and me... On the off chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10880 Malibu Point 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked... That's what you wanted right?" Tony took the cellphone held in his face before turning and hurling it at the brick pillar behind a few reporters.

"Bill me." He told the man before sliding into his car.

* * *

Upon arriving home, Stark went to work right away.

"I've compiled a Mandarin database for you, sir. Drawn from S.H.I.E.L.D., FBI, and CIA intercepts. Initiating virtual crime scene reconstruction..." J.A.R.V.I.S. told his creator. Tony grasped the virtual cube with both hands before turning in his chair and watching as the holographic computer went to work, a virtual version of the Chinese Theater appearing before him.

"Okay. What do we got here? Names. An ancient Chinese war mantel. Adviser to the King. South American resurgencey tactics. Talks like a baptist preacher. Lot's of pageantry going on here. Lot's of Theater... Close!" The information was stowed away once again, Stark still a bit puzzled about what was going on.

"The heat from the blast was in excess of 3,000 degrees Celsius. Any subjects with 12.5 yards were vaporized instantly."

"No bomb parts found in a three mile radius of the Chinese Theater...?" Tony asked.

"No, sir."

"Talk to me, Happy..." A virtual man began to form at Stark's feet in the same position they found Happy. Observing that his eyes and hand were pointing towards one direct object, Tony quickly walked over to his seat and sat down, rifling through the items found. "When is a bomb not a bomb?" He mumbled to himself before stopping upon finding a pair of dog tags that were in the rubble. Something clicked in his mind and he threw the hologram out into the open air. "Any military victims?"

"Not according to public records, sir."

"Bring up the thermogenic signatures again factoring 3,000 degrees..." He climbed upon his large tool box, a map of the United States appearing below him.

"The article cloud has completed analysis. Accessing satellites, plotting the last 12 months of thermogenic occurrences now." Different levels of temperatures began to pop up all across the map.

"Take away everywhere that there's been a Mandarin attack..." Many of the sights disappeared, leaving only a handful. There was one in California, one in Missouri, and one in Tennessee. The heat level read 3,000 degrees unlike the other two which were nowhere near the same temperature.

"That..." Tony pointed at the Tennessee. "You're sure that's not one of his?"

"It predates any known Mandarin attack. The instance was the use of a bomb to assist a suicide." Tony sat atop the tool box, wondering if the attack on the ski resort was a Mandarin attack. The explosions were set on the mountain and it was by pure luck Sam had found them.

"Bring her around!"

"The heat signature is remarkably similar. 3,000 degrees Celsius."

"That's two military guys... Ever been to Tennessee, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"Creating a flight plan for Tennessee." His AI said before he crossed his arms, signalling that their work was done for the day. Just when Tony was about to relax, a dreaded noise rang through his home.

_Ding dong._

"Are we still at ding dong? We're supposed to be on total security lock down! Come on! I threatened a terrorist! Who is that?" A screen appeared just to the side of him and he observed someone pulling into his driveway in an SUV.

"There is only so much I can do sir when you give the world press your home address." The AI replied back in almost a sarcastic tone. Tony sat back for a moment. J.A.R.V.I.S. was getting sassy lately.

Stark wasn't completely sure if he enjoyed the sass or not.

* * *

**Chapter 3!**

**Alright, thanks to all who favorited and followed this story! I know that there are only three chapters so far but stick with me! I promise that Sam will get here soon, probably the next chapter in fact!**

**However, I might be lying to you. I'm not sure yet. I depends how long I want the chapter to be. **

**Anyway, review and tell me what you guys think! I need feedback and words or reassurance to get through this story.**

**Thank you all and review!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	4. Chapter 4

When Tony got upstairs, J.A.R.V.I.S. had already let the woman in the house and was scanning her for any weapons.

"Right there's fine!" He warned, holding out his hand to stop her. The lady kind of gave him an odd look, seeing how he was already in his suit and prepared to fight should the Mandarin really show up. "You're not the Mandarin... Are you?"

"You don't remember? Why am I not surprised?" She threw her arms out to her sides, rolling her eyes as she went. Tony recognized her from somewhere. He didn't know where from but he did.

"Don't take it personally, I don't remember what I had for breakfast..."

"Gluten free waffles, sir."

"That's right!"

"Okay, look. I need to be alone with you, someplace not here. It's urgent!" Tony could only give her an odd look before turning away.

"Normally, I'd go for that sort of thing but now I'm in a committed relationship..." As he was walking back into his living room, two of Pepper's bags fell from upstairs, causing the Stark to stop mid sentence. "With her!"

"Tony?! Is somebody there?" He stepped out of the suit, leaving it standing just behind him. Tony glanced behind him and he finally realized who the woman was. Switzerland. 1999.

"Yeah, it's Maya Hansen, old botanist pal I used to know... barely." Pepper came walking down the stairs and Tony pulled the dark haired woman aside.

"Please don't tell me there is a twelve year old kid waiting in the car that I've never met..."

"He's thirteen..." Tony about had a heart attack. "No! I need you're help!" He relaxed a bit upon realizing that she was joking and his heart slowed in his chest. That was a hole other nightmare that he didn't need to deal with right now.

"W-What for? Why now?"

"Because I read the papers and frankly I don't think you'll last the week..." She admitted and Tony rolled his eyes. That's what everyone thought.

"I'll be fine..." Tony reassured her, his own doubt starting to creep into his gut.

"I'm sorry! With Happy in the hospital, I didn't know that we were expecting guests-" Pepper said, extending her hand to the dark haired visitor.

"We weren't-"

"-Or old girlfriends!" Pepper continued, almost as if she were reading Tony's mind.

"No, not really. It was just one night..." Maya explained a bit awkwardly but her own temper started to flare. It was Tony's style. Well, it _had_ been Tony's style.

"Yup!" Tony felt the tension suddenly rise in the atmosphere as he stood between the two women. If he didn't play his cards right, things could get messy for him. Very messy.

"That's how you did it... Isn't it?" Pepper smiled while patting Tony's back, knowing exactly how much of a womanizer Tony used to be. Man-whore.

"It was a great night!"

"Well, you know? You saved yourself a world of pain!" Pepper said while patting his shoulder. "Trust me."

"What?" Tony now felt insulted and he turned to look at his girlfriend.

"We're going out of town." Pepper told him. Well, it wasn't really telling, it was more like an order. He swore that sometimes, Pepper was the man in their relationship.

"Okay! We've been through this! Nope!" He protested.

"Yup!" Pepper yelled over him.

"The man says no!"

"Immediately and indefinitely!" She continued.

"Great idea!" Maya interjected, feeling a bit uncomfortable as she watched the happy couple fight. Maybe she was right to stay out of Tony's life. "Let's go! I'll get the bags..."

"I'm sorry, that's a terrible idea! Please don't touch her bags!" Tony snapped once Maya had moved closer to the front door and towards the bags Pepper had packed.

"This is how normal people behave..."

"Sir, there are helicopters circling the estate."

"Yes J.A.R.V.I.S., I know! They're news helicopters! But Pepper, I can't protect you out there!" However, Maya didn't really hear anything she was saying. The large rabbit in the corner of the room was kind of unsettling, not to mention disturbing.

"I-Is that normal?" She asked, pointing at it.

"Sadly, yes that is very normal..." Pepper said, ceasing the argument for a moment. She sighed heavily. This is why they didn't have guests very often. Tony usually scared them away. He was worse than the stupid Great Dane he used to have. Damn dog chewed up three sofas.

"Yes, that is normal!" Tony yelled, nearly interrupting Pepper. He was just getting angry and really worked up. "It's a big bunny! Relax about it!"

"Calm down!" Pepper told him once he had shouted at Maya, again.

"I got that for you! You still haven't told me that you liked it!" He snapped, his hand jutting out to point at the large Christmas present.

"Sir, the helicopters."

"I know J.A.R.V.I.S.!"

"Would you like me to initiate the protocol you set in case of emergencies?" Tony stopped for a moment.

"Uh, whatever sure... Wait, when did I make a new protocol?" He wondered. When had he actually made a new protocol? And what kind of emergencies was it for?

"I believe that it was last Tuesday while you were in an alcohol induced stupor."

"You're an alcoholic now?" Pepper asked, her eyes wide.

"No!" He defended himself.

"Tony, I don't like the rabbit!" Pepper interjected, causing him to stop for a moment.

"I asked you three-Oh, you don't like it!"

"We are leaving the house!" Pepper ordered before she began to walk away from him.

"Sir, the protocol?"

"Launch it!"

"Excuse me? Can we, um... Do we need to worry about that?" Maya interrupted pointing to the TV that showed the very house they were standing in. On the screen, it showed a missile that was rushing towards the house. Time seemed to slow as the missile came into contact with the billionaire's home. Sending them all flying through the air, Tony engaged Mark 42's special feature, making it surround Pepper while he flew into the wall behind them and leaving her safe.

More helicopters came rushing towards the house, about seven of them, all armed to the teeth with missiles and guns.

Tony awoke from his small daze of unconsciousness to see Maya out cold on the floor across the room. Hearing a sudden cracking noise, he looked up to see the building above him starting to crumble, threatening to crush him. Just as a large piece was about to collapse, Mark 42 appeared out of nowhere and took the blow, protecting Tony. The face plate raised to reveal Pepper inside.

"I've got you!"

"I got you first! Like I said, we can't stay here!" Another wave of missiles hit the house, causing the structure to shake and Tony went flying into one of his beloved couches with a yell. He tumbled head over heels onto the floor and he lay their momentarily. He was getting to old for this shit.

"Move!" He commanded once he got up from the floor. "I'm right behind!" Just as he was about to join Pepper on the other side of the room, the floor between them collapsed, leaving Tony trapped in the house.

"Get her! I'm going to find a way around!" He told the anxious red head in the suit. "Stop stopping! Get her! Get outside! Go!" Pepper nodded before rushing over to Maya and helping the now conscious woman from the ground. Moving towards the door, Pepper held out the hand thruster, checking to see if any enemies had entered the house. Not figuring out how to fire them, she grumbled under her breath before dropping her hand back to her side where the thruster fired, causing both women to break through the glass and land safely outside what once was Tony Stark's home.

Another wave of missiles came raining down upon his home, causing Tony to fall once again. The supports under the house were fired upon and the whole thing began to tilt and he fell forward, breaking through the glass windows. He was able to catch himself on a metal support beam and haul himself up but he was still kind of in a dangerous place with the ocean waves beating on the rocks a few hundred feet below him.

Just then, another helicopter came into view, ready to fire upon the helpless Stark, who raised his arms to protect himself from the attack, when suddenly there was a flash and a crack that rang out through the air. Stark's eyes could only watch as something fast ripped clean _through_ the middle of the helicopter, both of it's ends spiraling towards the water in a burning mess. Wondering what had just happened, Tony blinked rapidly before calling out to J.A.R.V.I.S.

"What was that?"

"Sir, I believe that was the protocol." Looking back at the scene, Tony watched as the cause of the explosion came flying out of the cloud of smoke, the dark substance clinging to the armor. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing. Also, he was wondering when he had made this protocol because he was sure he would have _remembered_ this one.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., I can't use _that_ suit!"

"Of course you can't, sir. It is already being occupied." Tony continued to watch the suited figure hover in the air without using the thrusters. However, there was still the familiar glow that came from the chest piece, signalling that power was coursing through the suit.

"What?"

In awe, Tony watched as the black suit simply hovered in air before him. It was a magnificent thing and Tony was very proud of his work. It had turned out nicely. This suit was designed for speed and, compared to his other suits, extremely light weight due to the different metals that made up the exoskeleton. Titanium and beryllium were some of the main components used in the armor, making it durable yet light. Parts of it didn't even appear metal. It almost looked like really tough leather but in reality, it was metal compacted so tight and so pure that it flexed easily and allowed the user to move freely. It didn't even have a name.

For this project, Tony had decided to step away from his own suits and start on something completely different. He had completely started over because to be honest, this suit was special.

The helmet was sleek as was the rest of the suit and it didn't have as many ridges and dips like the other iron suits had. Other parts of the suit were also differently proportioned because of the person that the suit was essentially designed for.

After a moment of simple staring, the sleek helmet seemed to unfold from around the person's head, revealing who they truly were. Tony stuttered and he nearly chocked on his own tongue. This couldn't be happening. This _wasn't_ happening. Surely this was a dream.

"S-Sam?"

"Hello, Stark."

"How...?!"

"I'll explain later, right now you're house is being blown up." Her tone was icy calm and Tony watched as the helmet folded up around her head before hiding her face once again.

"Oh yeah!" He realized once the structure shook ahead and he gripped tightly to the beam he was sitting on.

"Sir, Miss Potts is clear of the structure." Calling the Mark 42 suit to him, the helicopters fired at him when they caught sight of him in the window. However, that quickly stopped when Sam slammed into the side of one, causing the copter to go off balance and spin in the air. Punching a hole in one of the electrical panels, Sam pulled out a handful of wires and the machine went spinning down towards the choppy water, the bad guys still trapped inside.

However, Tony discovered that the suit that enveloped him he didn't have any flight power, he began to panic when the house began to shift on its foundation.

"Stark, get your ass out of there!" Sam called through the communication link as she continued to distract the helicopters, allowing him for more time to get the flight power. She zoomed around in her new suit, used to flying in it already. It was almost like a second skin and she didn't really see the need to complain about it.

Seeing his grand piano sliding down towards the water, Tony took his advantage and blasted it out the windows and into one of the copters. "That's one!" Seeing another helicopter off to the side, he prepared to fire. Commanding the suit to fire a missile, Tony sighed in frustration when it said that he couldn't excess the weapon.

"Sir, the suit is not combat ready." His AI warned him. Tony sighed. Of course it wasn't. Running through the house, Stark nearly got knocked over when he got hit by heavy artillery fire. Ripping open the plating that hid the explosive missile on his arm, Tony launched it into the air before firing at it with his thrusters, causing a huge explosion.

"That's two!" Tony's excitement was short lived and his face fell when he saw that the helicopter he just destroyed was spinning towards him and the house. It broke through the roof, sending him flying across the room in the suit. The floor crumbled beneath his body and he let out a loud cry as he fell down into the garage. Landing with a loud thud, it took a moment for his brain to register that he was in the basement of his home and he quickly looked around only for the sight to be horrifying.

It felt like a hole was being ripped through his chest, seeing all his beloved machines and cars destroyed. His Audis slipped into the water, their car alarms blaring but he couldn't hear them over the grumbling of his Malibu home. They quickly slipped through a broken window and fell into the water below, along with the other half of his house. Tony also watched as his special Marks were blown to bits. The ones in the glass cases? Yeah, you know the ones.

Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

All of them gone. Just like that. Everything he had ever done. Everything that he had become simply blown to bits before his very eyes. But he also saw something else.

"Sam, the Bifrost!" Tony reminded her through the link.

Sam froze midair after she finished off her third copter, the thought striking her, almost causing her to tumble from the sky at the reminder. The new Bifrost was in the garage. In the house. The house that was being destroyed by the bad guys she was destroying. Stark had just warned her of the machine.

All that work would be for nothing.

Glancing at the army of helicopters, she growled before taking off towards the house. Smashing through one of the few remaining windows, she landed in the garage right by the machine. It was in the exact same place where she had left it all those months ago. Pulling the sheet off the top, she felt some odd feeling creep into her now cold heart.

The circuitry in the machine was done. Tony had finished it. This was her only chance. The Bifrost. Her final chance to get to the man that she cared about the most stood before her.

* * *

**Chapter 4 done!**

**Sam's back! Yay!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed and Happy 4th of July!**

**Review please!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	5. Chapter 5

The house shook again. The piece of cement she was standing on teetered but stayed in place but the machine began to slip on its supports. Using her inhuman strength, she wrapped her hands around one of the metal beams and held it in place. Once the house stopped moving, she let the machine go and was happy to find that it stayed in place.

Releasing herself from the suit, she stepped out and left it behind her in case she had to evacuate. She knew she had to hurry. Time was running out.

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated for a moment. Letting her head fall back, her mouth fell open in a silent scream as the natural energy surrounded her and filled her up as she had been practicing for so long. All those months that she had been gone. All those storms. All those people she had to hurt. It was for this one moment.

That was right, she figured out a power source. The natural energy caused by the elements was enough for that. It was basically the same as when she was able to remove the Tesseract from the machine.

Her eyes clouded over and she let the energy pour into her very being. However, the army of helicopters was also being assaulted outside because Sam needed something to draw the power from and the large water spouts outside howled as they drained copious amounts of water from the salty ocean below.

Tony watched in horror as they came closer to the house and his eyes widened in his suit, knowing that the both of them were in danger. Sam had to reign herself in.

"Sam, don't!" He warned but he then realized that her suit was off and the roaring winds that were whipping around his damaged house didn't allow her to hear anything.

Once she felt the current inside her buzzing and overflowing with power, she lowered her head back down and opened her eyes to reveal her milky white pupils. Carefully reaching out, she grabbed a hold of the two metal beams on either side of her. They gratefully absorbed the energy, the odd glowing light traveling up to the collective panels attached to the machine which started with a loud hum, turning the turbines and ripping through the very fabric that held the universe together.

"It's working..." She whispered to herself, still barely under control. She watched as the portal slowly began to materialize on the stand and she called for Chatnir who was never far away. He landed in her extended hand, glowing almost impossibly bright. Cradling the orb in her open palms, she focused on where she wanted to go after closing her eyes.

_Asgard. Take me to Thor. Take me to your home._

Opening her eyes once again, she watched as the portal began to shine and show color before it changed into a real scene.

And it was beautiful.

The sky sparkled on the golden buildings that glittered in the distance. The sky sparkled with stars and planets could be easily seen hanging in the empty space above the wonderful city. The wind rustled through the tall grass before her, revealing a beautiful scenery. The only calm during the battle that was taking place.

It was everything she ever dreamed about. Everything Thor had told her about. And he was right there as well, obviously taking in the scenery just as she was. Chatnir had brought her right to what she wanted most.

"Sam, get out of here!" She quickly looked over to see Tony struggling to hang onto a piece of cement that was crumbling beneath him. She just looked back at the man, her eyes still clouded over.

It was terrifying to see her like this. Her humanity was nearly gone. It was scary how fast she lost herself in those few months that she was missing. She wasn't the same Sam as she was before.

"No!"

"Sam, I SAID GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT BEFORE THEY FOLLOW YOU!"

"They can't follow me where I'm going!" She called back to him through the wind, the wild currents causing her blonde hair to whip about her face. Just as she was about to step in the portal, another missile struck the house, causing the slab she was on to tilt wildly, knocking her off balance. Both her and the machine began to fall through the air.

Just as she was about to reach out and grab a hold of one of the metal braces, a metal cable wrapped around her abdomen, taking her down towards the dark water that was swallowing up nearly everything in sight.

"Thor!" She called as she struggled against the weight of the cable, her muscles protesting as she tried to work herself free. She watched in almost slow motion as he turned and his eyes widened upon seeing her reaching out to him, seemingly falling to her death. He lunged forward and for a moment, their fingertips brushed through the portal's connection. They had touched. But it wasn't enough.

The cable suddenly went taught and she was yanked back. Her eyes were wide as she was dragged down and she watched the portal began to fizzle out, along with Thor.

"Saman-" His voice was cut off as the portal tore itself apart. Watching as the machine slipped from the slab, it smashed into some of the rocks beneath Stark's home, nearly crushing her in the process. It was completely destroyed.

Her heart froze in her chest. Her opportunity was gone. She nearly began crying if it weren't for the fact that she was about to fall to her death.

Gathering her thoughts together, Sam pushed the cold feeling away before turning and ripping the cord from the deep cement with one easy flick of her wrist. Expertly twisting away from the stray cable, she flew back into the air, her new suit hovering a few feet away.

"Come here!" She commanded angrily to the black suit which quickly latched onto her and enclosed her inside itself. The display screen instantly lit up before her and immediately, warnings started going off about the approaching helicopters and other enemy threats.

Whipping her head around, she surveyed the area and out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her teammate. "Stark!" He was in the same predicament she was in, trapped in a few cables.

"Go!" He commanded her as he nearly had himself already free from the wire. With a nod, she quickly flew upwards through the falling rubble, nearly being crushed twice. She didn't see that Stark got snagged by another cable which pulled him beneath the water, completely submerging him.

Once she was hovering safely over the Malibu home, she stopped and looked around for Stark but he was nowhere to be found. She flew closer to the road and saw Pepper and a woman she didn't know standing together, worried looks on both their faces.

"Where's Stark?" Sam asked as the helmet fell away from her face, revealing who she was to Stark's girlfriend.

"Sam?!" Pepper squeaked in surprise and the blonde could only glare at the woman.

"I asked you a question!"

"He never came back!" Pepper held up her hands in defense, clearly a little worried about seeing the wild look in Sam's eyes. It was always harder for her to control her temper after handling so much energy.

"Shit!" She growled before quickly turning and flying back over the water. She called out for him. "STARK!" Her voice was shrill as her eyes searched the dark waters.

She was about to dive down into the choppy sea when a few helicopters suddenly came racing towards her. The woman held her ground as she simply smiled inside her suit before moving forward with incredible speed.

When she broke through the tough metal, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, also hitting the helicopter.

More choppers soon arrived and Sam wondered who had enough money to afford so many of the machines. She had no choice but to run when they began to fire at her, knowing that eventually the large bullets would rip through the suit, damaging her actual body. And as she ran, she was able to buy Stark some time. The helicopters were so distracted with her presence that they didn't see Mark 42 slip from the water behind them.

There was also another problem. Sam hadn't seen it either.

* * *

"Sir! Sir!"

"Alright, kill the alarm..." Tony mumbled as he blinked into consciousness. God. He just hurt everywhere.

"That's the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below 5%." Once registering what was really happening Tony blinked his eyes rapidly before groaning in both disbelief and terror.

He was alive. He was sure that he had drowned.

"AAAAAAAAAHAHHHAHAHAAHAHAA!" He screamed as the suit began its decent. He didn't really have control over it anymore and he spiraled towards the ground, a vehicle on the road flashing its lights. It had to swerve out of the way when it saw the incoming suit and Stark bounced along the ground three or four times before hitting about twelve trees. It was then that Mark 42 finally landed itself in a snow bank with a very disgruntled and banged up Tony inside. Rolling over onto his back, Tony slowly pried the face plate off so that he could actually breath in fresh air.

"It's snowing right?" He asked J.A.R.V.I.S. who failed to respond. "Where are we? Upstate?"

"We are 5 miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee."

"WHY!? J.A.R.V.I.S.!? Not my idea! What are we doing here?! This is thousands of miles away, I gotta get Pepper! I gotta... Uh..." Tony just lay in the snow for a minute, completely exhausted.

"I prepared a flight plan and this was the location." J.A.R.V.I.S. almost sounded sarcastic just then and Tony realized that he may have to fix that issue later.

"Who asked you?" Tony grumbled back. "Open the suit!"

"I-I think I may be malfunctioning, sir..." J.A.R.V.I.S. was able to open the suit but his voice soon became fuzzy and it faded off at the end.

Sitting up, Stark embraced the cold night air for a minute. He didn't like it very much.

"That's brisk!" He shivered a bit before rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm them. Seeing a large bump on his arm, he picked up a handful of snow and pressed it against the wound. "Maybe I'll just cozy back up..." Stark prepared to lay back down in the suit when his AI decided to speak.

"I t-think I n-need to sleep now, s-sir..." J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice was once again fuzzy before he faded out completely. The suit also lost its hum and for once it was completely silent around him. Tony had never been anyplace that it was this quiet. No cars. No machines. No people. Nothing.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.! J.A.R.V.I.S...? Don't leave me buddy..." Tony begged his AI, realizing just how quiet it was. How completely lonely it was.

Sitting out in the cold winter air, he looked around for a moment, trying to get his barrings straight. Then he realized that his ass was freezing and got up from out of the suit and began towing it along with a pair of shoulder straps that came equip with the suit.

Five miles wasn't that far.

However, as always, Stark was dead wrong. Those five miles were pure hell as he walked through the falling flakes, his hands now shaking and his toes going numb.

He about heaved a sigh of relief when he caught sight of the Texaco station. Coming closer to the building, he saw a statue of a wooden Indian wearing a poncho standing by the door and he laid claims to the article of clothing before tugging it over his head, offering him only a little more warmth but it was better than nothing.

Deciding that he needed help, Stark climbed into the phone box on the other side of the store before putting what little money he had in his pockets into the phone.

"Stark secure server. Now transferring to all known receivers." The automated woman on the other end of the line said through the earpiece and Tony nodded his head, setting his words right in his mind.

"Pepper, Sam... It's me. Pepper, I've got a lot of apologizes to make and not a lot of time so... First off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again. Also, it's Christmas time... Rabbit's to big. Done. Sorry... And I'm sorry in advance because I can't come home yet. I need to find this guy. You gotta stay safe... That's all that matters now..." He took a deep breath before preparing his next speech, knowing that this one was going to be harder to do.

"Sam-Sam... Sammy..." He just let his head fall against the cold glass of the phone box, not really knowing what to say. He had practiced this same speech a million times but he had never gotten it right. At one point, he almost had it perfected but now his words were escaping him.

"Like I said before, I've got a lot of apologizes to make and I want to start with your's now..." He sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, still planning out his next words. "You're probably not even listening to this right now so I'm just jabbering aimlessly into a phone. But, if you are listening, know this: Being your friend... Isn't one of the mistakes that I wanted to apologize for. All the time we spent together, it wasn't a mistake. It had to be some of the best times... And I want to apologize for not giving you the time I should have. I'm sorry about the Bifrost. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I'm just-just... sorry." He grew silent.

"I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian..." He began, not knowing what else to say. He shook his head in disbelief, a crazed laugh escaping his throat. He took a shaky breath before speaking again.

"I... I also hope you like the suit. It's your's now, considering I don't have the boobs to wear it..." He laughed, hoping that his last sentence would at least make her smile. "I was saving it for you when you came back... If you ever came back... B-But you did and now you have it! I've been working on it since you left and I just finished it the other day. Happy belated birthday, Sam..." He smiled into the receiver before banging his head against the glass, knowing that this message was falling apart in his hands. "Just know that I've... Well, I missed you all those months but I don't expect to hear from you ever again so... Stay safe, Sammy..." He whispered before hanging up the phone.

After hearing Pepper's message, she wouldn't ever get her own message. He could just feel it.

* * *

**Well, Sam's back and she's kinda pissed at Tony. The Bifrost is gone. Thor is still separated from her. Tony is trying to make up for all the mistakes he's made.**

**What if Sam doesn't except his apology? Will she find him or will she just disappear again? **

**Review if you liked my story! Love hearing from you guys!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	6. Chapter 6

Walking up to a dark house, he prayed that nobody was home. Using an ax, he kicked the door in, Mark 42 falling inside in the process. Upon finding that the garage seemed to be unvacated, he stepped inside, pulling the poncho over his head and tossing it to the side. Hauling Mark 42 up onto the couch in the room, Stark heaved a sigh of relief before dropping down onto the couch beside the iron suit.

He was getting to old for this kind of stuff.

"Let's get you comfy..." Tony moved 42's arms and legs so that it appeared that he was simply sitting on the couch, enjoying simply being in a dark, old garage. "Ya happy now?" He pushed the face mask away from him in frustration. He didn't want to talk to him right now.

After a few minutes and one cat nap later, Tony walked over to the only lamp in the garage before turning it on. Reaching for a pair of needle nose pliers, he began to pull the shards of metal and glass from his forearms.

"FREEZE!" Tony looked up from his work and saw a young boy standing in the still open doorway, a potato gun in his hands. "DON'T MOVE!" The kid warned, pointed the dinky weapon at him. Stark just furrowed his brows at the not so threatening threat. But, he decided to play along.

"You got me!" He dropped the pliers and held his hands up in surrender. "Nice potato gun. Barrels a little long... Between that and the large gauge, it's gonna diminish your FBS..." The kid then fired the gun at a glass jar, causing the glass to shatter. Alright, maybe Stark had underestimated the kid. The kid only raised an eyebrow at him. "And now, you're out of ammo!"

"What's that thing on your chest?"

"It's an electromagnet. You should know. You've got a box of them right here..." He flicked a box sitting on the desk he was seated at.

"What does it power?" Tony decided to save his words and instead, sighed and stood up, turning the lamp so that the kid could see the Iron Man suit seated on his old sofa. The kid grinned before dropping his potato gun and exclaiming, "Oh my God!" He took a few steps forward, his eyes sparkling with awe. "That's... That's! Is that Iron Man?"

"Technically I am." The kid stepped forward to get a closer look at the suit.

"Technically..." The kid walked passed him, pressing a newspaper to his chest in the process. So, this kid was a paperboy. Just great. More paparazzi. Alright, maybe not. "You're dead..."

Stark unfolded the paper, revealing his face and a headline concerning him and the Mandarin. "Valid point..." Tony frowned. The whole world thought he was dead. Now, that could be considered both a good and bad thing. It would be good for Pepper but bad for Sam. Meaning she would have to be the one to defeat the Mandarin. Tony guessed her to be a very vengeful person.

"So what happened to him?"

"Life. I built him. I take care of him. I'll fix him..." Tony tossed the paper down onto the table, watching as the kid sat down next to the metal suit and began to examine him.

"Like a mechanic!"

"Yeah..." The kid continued to play with the helmet, turning it back and forth.

"If I was building Iron Man and War Machine-"

"It's Iron Patriot now..." Stark interrupted the kid.

"That's way cooler!"

"No its not!" Tony insisted quietly as he played around with a stray tool.

"Anyway, I would have added in retro-" The kid couldn't quite figure out what exactly he was trying to say.

"Retroreflective panels?"

"To make him stealth mode!"

"You want a stealth mode?" Tony asked, thinking about the same idea. Well, he had added them to _one_ suit and he had yet to test it out. "That's actually a good idea. I already did it..."

"Then why isn't it on this suit?"

"Because I used it on another, really special suit and I don't even know if it works right..." The kid wasn't paying attention and accidentally ripped one of Mark 42's fingers off.

"Oops."

"Not a good idea!" Stark protested as the kid's face morphed into one of guilt. "What are you doing? You're going to break his finger? He's in pain! He's been injured! Leave him alone!"

"S-Sorry..." The kid replied shyly, realizing that he was being yelled at by the one and only pilot of the Iron Man suit.

"Are you?" Stark snapped, his own temper rising. Then, he saw the downtrodden look upon the kid's face and decided to be a little nicer. He was only a kid after all. "Don't worry about it... I'll fix it." Stark continued to play with the tool in his hands, the garage becoming silent. "So, uh, who's home?"

"Well, my mom already left for the diner and Dad went to 711 to get scratchers..." The kid scratched his nose. "I-I guess he won because that was 6 years ago..." The kid continued to play with the broken finger in his hands, becoming completely silent. Tony then felt the mood in the room become as icy as the temperature outside. He simply hummed in understanding before sighing through his nose.

"Which happens. Dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it. Here's what I need..." The kid looked up from the finger to look directly into Stark's eyes. "A laptop, a digital watch, a cellphone, a pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of town, a big spring, and a tuna fish sandwich..." The kid gave the lost billionaire a weird look before leaning back more against the couch.

"What's it in for me?"

Tony shrugged. "Salvation... What's his name?"

"Who?"

"The kid that bullies you at school... What's his name?"

"How'd you know that?"

"I've got just the thing..." Tony approached his suit before popping open a side panel, revealing a small, weapon-like device. "This is a pinata for a cricket. I'm kidding. This is a very powerful weapon..." He grimaced as he knelt down beside the kid. "Point it away from your face and press the button on top. It discourages bullying. Not lethal. Just to cover one's ass..." The kid began to reach for the weapon but Stark wouldn't let him have it. "Deal?" The kid still hadn't answered and Stark continued to wave it in the air as he kept it from the kid's small hands. "Deal? What do you say?"

"Deal." The kid said and Tony handed over the little weapon.

"What's your name?"

"Harley." The kid's eyes were locked onto the little weapon now in his hands. What was it with kids and violence these days? "And you're...?"

"The mechanic... Tony." Stark simply looked at the kid for a moment. "You know what keeps going through my head: Where's my sandwich?"

* * *

"Sandwich was fair. Spring was a little rusty. The rest of the materials... I'll make do." Tony was now clean and he had on a new set of clothes so he no longer looked the a raggedy hobo. Tony and Harley were walking through the small down, looking for the place Tony needed to visit. "By the way, when you said your sister had a watch, I was kind of hoping for something a little more adult than that..." He pulled his sleeve back, reveal the Dora Explorer watch attached to his wrist.

Harley only laughed. "She's six! Anyway, it's limited addition!" They walked together for a few minutes before Harley decided to bring something up. "When can we talk about New York?"

"Maybe never. Relax about it."

"What about the Avengers? Can we talk about them?"

"I don't know later." Tony replied again, lightly pushing the kid to make his point. If he didn't stop talking about it, Tony would get either emotional or he would have another panic attack. "Hey, kid. Give me a little space." He warned the kid.

"Can you talk about Storm?"

"Who?"

"That lady who saved the ski resort..."

"What? No."

Together, they walked down a darkened alleyway before they came to what appeared to be the sight of a bombing. Flowers and memorials were placed around the corner of the broken building in memory of the people who had died. Tony could see the shadows on the walls from the people who were instantly vaporized when the explosion occurred.

It was just like in the Chinese Theater.

"What's the official story here?" They came to stand beside the rubble, both of them gazing upon the solemn scene. "What happened?"

"I guess this guy named Chad Davis used to live around an about. Won a bunch of medals in the army. One day, folks said he went crazy and, you know, made a bomb. Then he blew himself up! Right here."

The entire time the kid was talking, Tony had been looking the over the debris left over from the building. People who had been incinerated had left their marks upon the walls as a blackened shadow.

"Six people died right?"

"Yeah."

"Including Chad Davis?"

"Yeah." Tony found this odd and as he observed his surroundings, he found that something missing. Where was the sixth shadow?

"Yeah. Not that that makes sense..." The kid only looked over at Stark, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Think about it. Six dead. Only five shadows."

"Yeah, people said these shadows are like the mark of the souls going to heaven... Except the bomb guy. He went to hell on account that he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five..."

"Do you buy that?" Tony asked, the atheist coming out in him.

"That's what everyone says!" Harley insisted. The two of them sat in silence for a minute, both of them a bit solemn as they sat in the rubble from the broken building. "You know what this crater reminds me of?"

"No idea. I'm not-I don't care..."

"That giant wormhole in, uh, in New York! Does it remind you?" Tony shut his eyes tightly, the flashbacks coming back at the mention of New York.

"That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about that." He insisted.

"Are they coming back? The aliens?"

"Maybe! Can you stop?" Tony snapped, not liking where this conversation was going. He felt his heart begin to pick up speed in his chest and he could feel a panic attack coming on. "Remember when I told you that I have an anxiety issue?"

"Does this subject make you edgy?"

"Yeah, little bit! Can I just catch my breath for a second?"

"Do you need a plastic bag to breath into?" Harley continued to ask, not believing that Tony had panic attacks. The billionaire was turning very red in the face as he struggled to control his breathing. "Do you have medication?"

"Nope."

"Do you need to be on it?"

"Probably."

"Do you have PTSD?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you going completely mental?" Harley asked again and Tony looked at him as he struggled to control his breathing. "I can stop. Do you want me to stop?"

"REMEMBER WHEN I SAID TO STOP DOING THAT?! I SWEAR, YOU'RE GOING TO FREAK ME OUT!" In Harley's eyes, Tony was already freaking out. The kid didn't say another word. He just opened his mouth and Tony groaned as he hastily climbed to his feet. "Aw man, you did it didn't you?!" He began walking away, leaving a stunned Harley in his wake. "Happy now?!"

"What did I say?" Tony just continued to walk away from the crater before he took off at a jog, heading back to main street. "HEY, WAIT UP!"

Tony began to pull his coat off, trying to make it easier for him to breath. He only got so far before he leaned up against the side of a building before slumping to the ground, breathing hard.

"What the hell was that?" Harley asked as Tony pressed two fistfuls of snow to his forehead. He cooled himself down and he was a bit successful when his heart slowed slightly. He then thew the snow at Harley.

"You're fault. You spaze me out. Alright, so where are we? Guy who died? Who do we got? Relatives? Mom? Mrs. Davis, where is she?"

"Where she always is..." Tony was able to breath normally again.

"See, now you're being helpful." Harley then pointed Tony in the direction of the town bar and once he composed himself, Stark took off down the street, telling the kid to head home and guard the suit.

Not watching where he was going, Tony bumped into someone.

"Sorry." He then realized that they dropped something and bent down to retrieve it. "Lady..." The woman he bumped into turned back to face him. "This, uh..." He muttered, glancing down at the item in his hands.

"Thank you..." She said quietly and Tony looked down at her, noticing the large scars across her face.

"Nice haircut. Suits you." Tony couldn't keep the words in his mouth.

"Nice watch..." She retorted and Tony smiled slightly.

"Yeah. Limited edition."

"Oh, I don't doubt it..." She smiled slightly. "Well, have a good evening!" She began to walk away and Tony watched her leave for a moment before turning around heading back to the bar behind him.

Upon entering inside the dark building, Stark found it to be rather full but he guessed that with everyone on their Christmas break, people would be celebrating. Some loud country music played in the background and Stark eyed a cop's gun as he walked passed. Ordering himself a drink, Stark continued to wander around the dark bar until he thought he had found who he was looking for.

"Mrs. Davis?" She was toying with a set of dog tags, her eyes never leaving the necklace. Tony sat his drink down on the table next to her. "Mind if I join you?"

"Free country." She said, looking up at him.

"Sure is..." Tony muttered as he took a seat across from the depressed looking woman. He took his hat off and tossed it to the side.

"Alright." She said, sitting up in her seat, leaving the dog tags forgotten on the table. "Where'd you like to start?"

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for your loss..." Tony said quietly, the music in the background making it a little harder to hear each other. "I wanna know what you think happened..."

"Look. I brought your damn file. Take it and go." She said, placing a thick manila folder in front of him. He hadn't exactly asked for a file but alright. "Whatever was in here, he wanted no part of it..." Flipping open the front cover, Tony discovered a picture of the Davis boy in his army uniform, knelt in the snow, holding one of his government issued weapons.

"Clearly you're waiting for someone else." He said, closing the file again. He just wanted to talk with her. He didn't even want a file. "Yeah? You're supposed to meet someone here?"

"Yeah." She replied quietly. She was clearly confused about the whole situation. She had thought Tony was the one she was supposed to meet. Flipping open the file once more, he noticed that MIA was written up in the corner of one of the papers. It also had a picture of Chad, along with a picture of J. Taggart.

The other name on the dog tags found in the rubble of the Chinese Theater.

"Mrs. Davis. Your son didn't kill himself. I guarantee you. He didn't kill anyone..." A look of confusion passed over the older woman's face but Tony also hope and relief lingering in her eyes. "Someone used him..."

"What?"

"As a weapon..." Tony explained and he watched as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"You're not the person that called me after all, are you?" Someone interrupted their conversation by slamming something down onto the table in between them.

"Actually, I am!" Tony looked up to find the woman he had bumped into before. The lady with the scar. All three of them looked at each other for a moment. Next thing he knew, Tony's arm was forced behind his back and his face was slammed down onto the hard surface of the table. A pair of handcuffs closed around his wrist, securing one of his arms behind his back.

He heard someone protesting in the background but he didn't hear it. Instead, he took Chad's dog tags and put it into one of his pockets before the woman could secure his hands completely.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?" The Sheriff that Tony had noticed before had stepped in to intervene.

"It's called an arrest!" The woman said, glancing at the cop before she pushed Tony onto the floor. He landed with a hard thud and his feet kicked up into the air. "Sheriff, is it?"

"Yes ma'am, it is? And you are?" She held up a small badge.

"Homeland security. We good here?"

"No, we're not good..." He laughed. "I need a little more information than that!"

"Well, I think it's a little above your pay range, Sheriff..." Tony didn't hear the next part of the conversation. Instead, he looked back to Mrs. Davis and nodded. She picked up the file and tossed it onto the floor, sending it spinning away and hiding it from the woman who claimed to be a part of Homeland security.

"...Alright, I was hoping to do this the easy way but the fun way is always good!" Tony watched as she hid the badge behind her back and her hand started to glow as if it were heating up. His dark eyes widened.

The Sheriff wasn't taking any of her shit.

"Deputy, get this woman-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as the woman slammed the hot badge into his face. He let out a cry of pain and the woman quickly reached for his gun, shooting his deputy before the Sheriff himself. People began screaming in the bar, taking cover from the crazy glowing woman. Tony, by some sort of luck, was able to escape the bar and he quickly made it back outside into the cold Tennessee air.

The woman was right behind him.

"Hey, hot wings! You wanna party? Come on, you and me! Let's go!" Tony shouted before taking off down the street. However, he stopped when he recognized another glowing man who had just arrived in a car. Savin. Panicking, Tony turned and ran across the street, trying to find cover from the two hot heads. Pulling out a gun, the man from before was about to shoot at Stark when a snow ball planted itself in his face, causing his shots to go wide of their running target.

Harley hid behind a telephone poll but not before the man caught sight of him.

With the distraction, Tony was able to make it behind a car where he hid. A man was also hiding on the ground and Tony panted while looking down at him. "Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah." Tony's hands were still secured behind his back, all thanks to the lady hot head.

"Watch this!" Stark said before taking off running and leaping into the glass window of one of the shops. Landing hard and on his back, Tony winced and he felt some glass digging into his spine. He was able to get his hands around to the front of his body and he climbed to his feet, only to be met with a shotgun barrel.

Shit.

Running and diving over the shop counter, Tony barely missed the blast as it caused the items on the counter to shatter into a million pieces. Hiding from the lady, Tony slunk up close to the counter and saw that the coast was clear, only for him to turn back around and come face to face with the scarred woman. She hauled him up from the ground and slammed him against the wall before dealing a swift elbow to the side of the face. In pain, Tony fell to the side, his mind swimming momentarily.

However, she didn't stop her attacks. Tony tried fighting back but she easily countered and flipped him up onto the counter before them. Rolling over the other side, Tony was face to face with the woman again and she forced both their hands upwards, leaving only a small space between their faces. Grabbing his face in her hands, she began to heat them up but Tony was able to move out of her grip and he flipped over another counter, securing the handcuff chain around her neck in an attempt to choke her out. That plan failed however when she simply melted right through the steel. However, Tony's hands were now free as he ripped the hot handcuffs from his wrists.

Seeing a jug of vegetable oil beside him, Tony tipped it on its side and kicked it back in her direction, the contents spilling out as it went. Tony stood up and kicked one of the still glowing handcuffs into the oil and it sparked, causing the whole trail of liquid to light on fire.

Putting the dog tags from before into the microwave in the kitchen, Tony set the time for a few seconds and waited for her to get through the fire. It hadn't even deterred her at all.

"You walked right into this one. I've dated hotter chicks than you!" Tony said smugly, proud of himself for coming up with such a good comeback. She stumbled into the room, her entire body glowing from the heat it possessed inside.

"That's all you got? A cheap trick and a cheesy one liner?" She asked as Tony ripped a gas pipe free from its base, letting the air fill with the flammable substance.

"Sweetheart, that can be the name of my autobiography..." Tony said before turning and running out of the building, knowing that the dog tags would cause the microwave to spark at any second. Running into the ice room, Tony was able to use a door from the ice container as a shield for his face and he listened for the sound of the microwave finishing.

_Ding._

There is was.

_Boom._

Tony was about knocked over from the blast of the explosion and the door from the ice box came right off in his hand. Slightly deafened, Tony stumbled around a bit, unsure as to which direction was up. People were running about, screaming but the sounds were muffled as his hearing began to come back to him.

However, his hand suddenly got hot and he looked down to see the smoking door still in his hand and he tossed it to the side without another look. He could see the body of the hot chick dangling from the power lines above the store and he knew that she was done for.

Stupid bitch.

* * *

**Chapter 6! **

**Anyway, this one was kind of boring but I thought the anxiety attack part was funny. Plus, I love Harley. He's adorable. **

**And where is Sam?**

**Thanks to all who reviewed! Love y'all!**

**Review!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	7. Chapter 7

Hearing a sudden rumbling, Tony turned around and watched as one side of the water tower's base heated up and the other three sides began to groan in protest. Looking to the base of the tower, he saw the man from before leaning against the frame with a smug smile on his lips. His hand was glowing with heat and in one fluid moment, he ripped the hot metal down and the tower began to fall towards Stark.

Knowing that he would certainly be crushed by the metal, Tony began to run off through the Christmas tree farm but he was soon stopped by a chain link fence. This was going to be it. Tony Stark was going to be crushed by a huge tub of water. And if he wasn't crushed, he surely would be caught in the debris and drowned if he was lucky.

As the tower came crashing to the ground, Tony braced himself for the tremendous amount of water but his eyes didn't fail to see a person arrive at the last second, deterring the water as much as possible, almost forming a huge dome before them. Some metal debris still managed to reach Stark and his leg became tangled in it and he was swept away from the other person, a yell escaping his throat.

Still, he was relatively okay.

When the mess settled, Tony found that his leg was stuck underneath a brace and he couldn't free himself. Looking for the person from before, he was about to call out but then stopped when he heard voices coming in his direction.

"Let me go!"

"Help me! Help me!" Another voice mocked and the man from before emerged with Harley draped over his shoulder. Seeing his friend in danger, Tony tried to free himself once more but to no avail.

Setting down the folding chair in his hand, the hot head sat down and brought Harley onto his lap, his body glowing with heat. "Hey, kid! What would you like for Christmas?" He asked in a mocking tone as his arm tightened around the small boy.

"Mr. Stark! I am so sorry!" Harley tried apologizing as Tony continued to try to get free.

"No, no! I think he was trying to say, 'I want my good damn file...'" Savin said as he heated up more as a warning that he would not spare the child should Tony decide to be sassy.

"It's not your fault, kid." Tony insisted as he sputtered a bit, some water still remained in his lungs from when he was partially drowned. Stark then realized just exactly how cold it was outside. He didn't like it. It was worse than Denver.

"Hey, asshole." All three boys turned their head in the direction of the voice. Tony's eyes widened. It was a voice he knew very well but he hadn't heard it in such a long time. She pushed a hunk of debris off her and came out from her hiding place, steam rolling off her body due to the high energy she had exerted. "Put the kid down."

The man raised his eyebrows upon seeing her emerge. He looked her up and down with interest. The jeans she was wearing hugged her long legs and her shoulders were covered in a dark brown leather jacket. Her hair was up in a high bun, the hairs sticking out in all directions. She had a pissed look on her face. "And who are _you, _beautiful?"

"Yeah, I bet you'd like to know. I said put the boy down!" He tightened his grip on the boy, making the heat more intense and concentrated, showing the lady that he was not to be messed with. She simply narrowed her eyes, her fists tightening into fists.

"Or you'll do what?" He taunted her, raising a dark eyebrow. She stood stock straight for a minute, knowing that if she wanted to hit the man, she would also hit the boy.

"Harley!" Stark suddenly called, pulling the attention away from the new arrival. Talk about being fashionably late. Tony would give her shit about it later. "Remember what I told you about bullies?" The boy gasped in remembrance and he could almost feel the little weapon in his pocket. Slowly reaching down into his pocket, the woman saw this and readied herself to attack should the need call for it.

Glancing over at Stark, she saw that he literally had something up his sleeve. An arc reactor weapon. He never changed. She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement and as she saw the kid raise his hand, she stepped forward.

This was a mistake on her part because the bright light flashed into her eyes and she grabbed at them in pain. Opening her right one, she watched as the kid scrambled away and she staggered after him due to the blindness caused by the small weapon. The man fell backwards in his chair and the woman perused the boy behind a building.

"You like that, West World?" Tony taunted the now very pissed off man. "That's the thing about smart guys. We always cover our ass!" Tony flicked the hidden arc reactor from its hiding place in his sleeve and aimed at the man.

The weapon on his wrist was supposed to fire but it never did, much to Stark's dismay. Glancing down, he noticed that a few important wires were severed, leaving the weapon harmless.

"Well, shit..." Tony muttered as he braced himself for another attack.

"What's this with smart guys always covering their asses? Looks to me that you didn't do that well of a job!" Savin taunted back at the billionaire. Just as he was about to reach Stark, a jet of water smashed into him, sending him flying and smashing into an old rusted out car.

"Smart guys _always_ come with smart girls!" Sam growled as she lowered her hand back to her side. "Take a chill pill, hot head..." She commanded the man who lay unmoving in what remained of the car. His body was back to its normal color due to the water which contradicted the fire.

Seeing Stark in distress, she slowly approached him and he could only just look up at her in amazement. She was really there right now. She had somehow found him. Lifting the solid metal beam off his leg, Stark pulled his foot free before holding his hand up for her as a signal that he needed help up. He was _really_ getting old.

Sam easily tossed the beam away as if it weighed three pounds and she bent down with her fingerless gloved hand. Tony smiled slightly. She hadn't changed a bit. But then when their hands touched, Stark opened his mouth in a silent scream.

"S-S-S-S-Sam!" He stuttered out and Sam looked down, realizing that she was accidentally shocking him. His arc reactor in his chest fluttered uncontrollably and his body began to spasm slightly.

"Shit..." She muttered releasing his hand and instead hauling him up form the ground by the front of his shirt with her free hand. His hair stuck up a little, despite the fact that it was once thoroughly soaked by the water from the tower.

"What the h-h-hell?" He continued to stutter out, his body still twitching.

"I haven't had to control my powers in six months. What do you expect?" She all but growled as she looked over at the body of the unconscious man. He would be out for awhile.

"Well, it was nice of you to join the party despite the whole tasering bit right there..." He muttered as he stumbled over to the body of the man before reaching into his pockets and finding the keys to a car.

"No problem. Sorry I was late by the way. You did an awfully good job of covering your tracks..."

"Well, I wouldn't really call it covering my tracks. I mostly just fell off the radar, you know? Never to be seen or heard from again? Sound familiar?" Tony began muttering as they walked back to the main street. Sam walked beside him, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"I had my reasons..." She said and they emerged onto the street. Both of them fell into silence as they walked through the cold night air. "When did you get so good at apologies, any way?" Stark sighed before laughing quietly.

"When you live with Pepper, you have to apologize. A lot." He explained and he swore he saw the corner of Sam's mouth turn up slightly. Venturing back into the bar, Tony found the file that he needed and he began filing through it.

"You bring the suit?" He asked, never looking up from the file.

"Yeah, it's parked back behind some shed. Retroreflective panels? Nice touch. I didn't think you would have thought about putting those on..."

"So you like it?"

"It's alright I guess. Hell of a birthday present, even if it was like six months late. Bit tight in the chest though..." Sam said as she grabbed her boobs and squished them up slightly. "Nothing I can't fix though..." She muttered before falling completely silent.

Sam just said nothing. She was quiet. Too quiet.

"Your welcome!" Both of them suddenly looked over and watched as the kid approached them, disguised in a blanket with a tall cowboy hat on his head.

"For what? Did I miss something?" Tony raised an eyebrow at the boy. He glanced back at Sam to see her watching them quietly, her pupils still irregularly small due to the fact that she had been nearly blinded from the small weapon. She blinked rapidly, trying to regulate her pupils that burned.

"Me saving your life!" The kid insisted, patting Stark on the shoulder as the three of them continued to walk down the street.

"Yeah. A: Saved you first. B: Thanks, sorta. C: If you do someone a solid, don't be a yuts. Just play it cool or otherwise you come off grandiose..." Tony instructed the young boy but the kid picked up on the irony.

"So, like you?" Harley said as Stark opened the car door to climb inside. He stopped momentarily, thinking things through. The kid took this as a different sign. "Admit it. You need me. We're connected..." The kid tried goading Tony into taking him with him but the billionaire just sighed in frustration.

"What I need is for you to go home. Be with your mom. Keep your trap shut. Guard the suit. And stay connected to the telephone because if I call, you better pick up! Okay?" Tony instructed the boy who was listening intently to his every word. He opened the door to the car but waited to sit down. "Can you feel that? We're done here. Move out of the way or I'll run you over..." Tony instructed and the kid took a step back. "Bye, kid."

Tony started the car and was about to drive off when he looked over at Sam who was standing on the sidewalk with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes distant as she looked off into the dark sky.

"Aren't you coming?" Her head snapped over to look at him, still blinking painfully.

"Where's your suit?" She asked him, completely ignoring his question. He just shrugged his shoulders slightly while raising an eyebrow. "It's... under maintenance right now."

"So it's torn to shit?" Her voice was lighter but not as light as Sam's voice had been in the past.

"Language." Tony said, glancing over at Harley. Her eye brow twitched momentarily before looking at the kid himself, agitation in her eyes.

"Sorry."

"I don't mind..." Harley muttered, his cheeks a bit red and Stark did a double take on this. Shit. The kid had a crush on her.

"Anyway, I need you..." He pointed at Sam before turning. "To stay with him..." He pointed at the kid. "And together, you're going to fix the suit!" He clasped his hands together, a fake smile on his face.

"How's she supposed to fix the suit!? She's a girl!" Harley asked. Stark gritted his teeth for a moment, knowing how hot Sam's temper could be at times. Especially when she was criticized for being a girl. He slowly turned his head to look over at her. She had a pissed look on her face and she folded her arms tighter over her chest.

"I crash and fix sports cars for a living, buddy." She growled in his direction, her eyes narrowing dangerously. The kid swallowed nervously. "Who are _you_ exactly?"

"Oh!" Tony jumped in his seat, making the car rock slightly. "I forgot introductions. Harley, Sam Greene. Sam Greene, Harley."

"You mean she's Sam Greene as in the Sam Greene who controls the storms and lightning and-"

"Yeah. That's me."

"I didn't recognize you without that big guy beside you! What was his name again? Thu-Thin-... Uh..."

"Thor."

"Yeah! Sam and Thor! The greatest superhero duo in the universe!" Harley threw his arms out wide, motioning to well, the universe. Tony looked over and saw Sam's discomfort at the mention of her almost boyfriend and he decided to change the subject.

"Hey, kid. Shut up..." Harley's shoulders slumped slightly as he also noticed the pain on her features. "Take Sam back to your house. Do anything she asks and if you know what's good for you, don't piss her off." Tony commanded and the kid slowly nodded his head before taking a step back from the car. Stark looked back at Sam.

"If you run into a problem, call me..." He said, holding out Harley's old cellphone. She nodded.

"And if you run into trouble, I'll be there... with my suit." She promised and it was Stark's turn to nod. Both Sam and Tony watched as Tony shifted the car and sped away to God knows where, leaving them standing in the cold Tennessee air.

"So... Have you ever been to Tennessee before?" Sam looked away from the car Tony was driving to the child standing in the middle of the street. She shook her head and he slowly approached her.

He could see that she was uncomfortable so he took a few careful steps closer. Carefully reaching out, he went to grab her hand but she put it in her pocket for his own safety. She didn't know if she could reel in the energy anymore. Six months was a long time without any restraint.

"It's okay. You won't hurt me." He reassured her, pulling her hand out of her pocket. She clenched her jaw and really focused as he took a hold of her larger hand in his own, the leather the only thing separating them. She could feel the current waver inside her but she held it together. She needed to re-learn how to protect people and she would start with a clean slate.

_Protecting people?_ She thought to herself. _Heroes protect people. I'm not a hero._

But then as she looked down at the little boy by her side, beaming up at her with adoration, she thought for maybe a moment that she could be a hero for innocent people like him.

* * *

Tony was driving down the road about three hours later. He had just discovered that Aldrich Killian was in fact part of AIM and they were using Extremis to create human bombs. He had to show Sam.

Pulling the phone from his pocket, he linked it with the Bluetooth in the car before dialing the number that Harley had given him and eventually someone picked up.

"Hello?" Tony immediately recognized the voice as Harley's.

"Harley, what's happening? Give me a full report!" Tony said, his eyes focused on the road before him, glancing down at the file in the seat beside him.

"Yeah, I'm still eating that candy. Do you want me to keep eating it?"

"How much have you had?"

"Two or three bowls."

"Can you still _see_ straight?"

Harley hesitated in a moment as he narrowed his eyes at the computer screen before him. "Sorta."

"That means your fine. Give me to Sam." Harley handed the phone to the lady who was currently trying to melt two pieces of the suit together. Without a welder. She looked up from her work, both her hands smoking and sparking with electricity. Harley held the phone up to her ear until she was able to situate it between her shoulder and ear.

"You'd make a terrible father." Was the first thing she said.

"That's why I don't plan to become one anytime soon..." Stark said, smiling slightly. "Anyway, Sam, how are we?"

"Well, everything seems to be going alright. J.A.R.V.I.S. is trying to get going but he keeps having problems with his sentences..." Harley took the phone back and placed it on the suit's mouth piece.

"Hello, buddy! How's it going?"

"It's totally fine, sir. I seem to do quite well for a stretch and then at the end of the sentence I say the wrong cranberry." J.A.R.V.I.S. said and Sam couldn't help the snort that came from her nose. Tony was silent on the other end of the line and by this time, her hands had stopped smoking so Sam picked up the phone.

"See?"

"Well, we'll work on that later..."

"So, I found where the Mandarin's broadcasting signal is coming from when I factored in available AIM downlink facilities..." Well, this was some good news. But Tony figured that if Sam was repairing the suit _and_ tracking down the Mandarin, one of them had to be lacking in some way.

"So what are we talking? Far East Europe? North Africa? Iran? Pakistan? Syria? Where is it?" Sam looked at the map on the laptop before her and she motioned for Harley to zoom in. What she discovered next was a bit insane and she had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing things right.

"M-Miami."

"Alright, Harley?

"Yeah?" The kid pipped up, bringing his bowl of candy with him over to the phone.

"While Sam's fixing the suit, I'm going to have to walk you through rebooting J.A.R.V.I.S.'s speech drive but not right now. Sam, is it really in Miami?"

"Miami, Florida. The one and only..." She muttered, scrolling across the globe and finding that to be the only place on the map. Something was entirely fishy about this whole thing but she just didn't know what.

"Alright. First things first. We need the armor. Where are we at with it?"

"Uh..." Tony didn't like that sound and he felt his heart begin to pick up in his chest. He was right when he thought one of them was lacking. "It's... Well, it's not charging..." Harley admitted. Tony slammed on the breaks and pulled the car off to the shoulder of the road.

"No... Actually, it is charging but we need a stronger power source... The one we have is a bit... questionable." She looked at the suit which was completely wired up and looked like a complete mess. Sam's voice came through the speakers of the car and Tony began having a panic attack. He couldn't breath. His hands were shaking. His vision was blurry.

"What's questionable about electricity?" Tony shouted into the microphone and both people on the other end winced slightly. "Alright. It's my suit and I can't-I'm not gonna-I don't wanna..." Tony took a deep breath when he realized what was happening. "Oh God not again!"

Sam looked up from her work on the suit when she heard Stark begin to stutter uncontrollably. Her eye brows drew together and she listened intently. She could faintly hear his heavy breathing through the ear piece.

"Tony?" Harley called quietly. "Are you having another attack?"

"Another attack?" Sam looked at Harley, a spark of worry entering her once cold eyes. Harley had noticed this when Sam first found Tony. When she looked at him, she held this sort of hate behind her eyes and even as a kid, he noticed. He wasn't that stupid. It was easy to see that they had a past together.

"I didn't even mention New York!"

"Oh, Jesus!" Both of them said simultaneously, dropping what they were doing as Harley brought up the one thing that haunted their minds the most. The kid simply watched as Sam jumped up from her seat and began pacing around the room, her eyes wide and her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"And there you go! You said it by name _while_ denying that you said it!" Tony yelled back into the phone and the kid glanced over at Sam who then stopped her pacing and was back in her seat, her head laid down into the table with her arms around her head. Harley looked between the two of them again and he could hear the attack getting worse on Tony's end of the phone.

He still didn't really understand what the big deal was about New York.

"Breathe." Harley instructed, more to Stark than to Sam who raised her head upon hearing the word. It reminded her of something that had happened what felt like so long ago but it helped her remember what she was fighting for and she pulled her shit together. "Just-Just breath..." Harley instructed again and Sam could hear Tony whimpering on the other side of the connection.

This caused something inside her to spark to life. Some impossibly small spark of care for the man on the other side of the phone. She stuck her hand out, silently commanding the kid to hand her the phone. He did so and she pressed it to her ear so that she could talk directly to him.

"Alright, Tony listen..." She could hear Stark panting on the other side and she took her own deep breath. "The suit will be fixed. Don't worry about it. I'll-I'll figure out a suitable power source to get it going..."

"You said my name." Stark gasped out, his heart still beating erratically in his chest.

"What?"

"You said my name!" He gasped out again and Sam's brows drew together in confusion. "That's the first time you've called me Tony in five months!"

"Six."

"Whatever." He continued to breath hard and Sam shut her eyes in concentration, trying to think of what to do. Harley then patted her on the shoulder, making her look down at him. He held his hand out for the phone and after a questionable look, she handed him the phone.

"You're a mechanic right?" Harley said quietly into the phone.

"Right."

"You said so." Sam looked upon the little boy, her lips curling up gently as she watched the little boy begin to bring him down from his apparent panic attack. Quickly realizing what she was doing, she let her lips drop before plastering the stony expression on her face again.

"Yes, I did."

"Why don't you just build something?" The other end grew silent and Harley began to panic momentarily. Had Tony hyperventilated and passed out?

"Okay. Thanks kid." Harley smiled slightly. Tony was about to hang up the phone when Sam held her hand out.

"Stark, wait!" She called into the microphone.

"What?"

"I can use my suit to charge Mark 42..." She told him.

"Alright. Sounds good." He breathed a sigh of relief, silently wondering how he had missed that small bit. "Hey, meet me at the Chattanooga Home Depot in half an hour."

"Gotcha."

"But lay low alright?"

"Stark, I've been laying low for six months. I think I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Tony stood in the home improvement store, his eye brows furrowed as he began to dream up his grand scheme. Yes, the plan was coming together nicely in his head.

Suddenly, Stark felt someone come up beside him and he tensed. Just as he was about to turn and attack who ever came up beside him, he stopped. Risking a glance over at the person who was so close to him, Tony jumped in surprise when he realized that it was Sam in a dark gray hoodie.

"Shit, Sam!" He jumped slightly before drawing his own hood up higher around his ears as to not draw attention to them. She had her own pair of sunglasses over her eyes and she didn't make eye contact with him. She was simply quiet with her hands in her pockets, trying not to make the a scene. "I see you've taken a liking to sunglasses?"

"They're... okay." She murmured, reaching up and pushing the aviators up higher on the bridge of her nose. They had highly reflective lens and the rims were a bright lime green. Yeah, really low key, Sam.

She reached out to pick up a heavy duty wrench that was hanging before them. She tossed it into Stark's cart and continued walking down the isle, picking up random things and putting them in the cart. After awhile, Tony got her her own cart and Sam was more than happy to begin filling it full of supplies. It wasn't like she was buying any of it anyway.

Pushing both carts to the front of the store, Sam simply stood with her arms crossed over her chest while Tony paid for all their stuff. Of course, the check out boy gave the both of them an odd look when he scanned the Fire Ant Control and the Christmas ornaments but said nothing as he looked at the beautiful yet pissed off woman waiting for him to scan their things.

After paying for all their supplies, the two of them left the home improvement store and headed to a hotel where they could assemble all of their weapons in private. Well, Tony's weapons. Sam was a walking weapon so she didn't need any tools.

"So, why did you come back?" Sam was busy assembling a handheld taser and she calmly clicked the button, causing sparks to jump from the two prongs. It heated up with a shrill cry and Sam calmly touched it to her finger, her eyes watching the sparks jump on her own skin, completely unfazed.

Tony simply gritted his teeth as he watched her play with the electricity. Oh, the pain.

"I didn't really have a choice did I?" She said quietly, keeping her finger on the prong too long. She grimaced before putting her finger in her mouth. Her skin was a bit burnt now. "You started threatening terrorists. Bombs are going off in public. The world is a mess. They need a hero, Stark..." She said, tossing the taser onto the bed. She rubbed a hand over her face.

"So you're going to start being a hero now?" He asked quietly, his eyes transfixed on his work.

"You know me, Stark. I've never been a hero and I never will be. I'm just... I'm a hot mess..." She said while tilting back in the chair she was sitting in.

"Well, one of these days, you're going to wake up and realize what you truly are. Thor's daddy-"

"Odin."

"_Odin_ gave you your powers for a reason. It's about damn time that you started using them..." Stark said, becoming slightly agitated with her. "Be a hero for the people, even if you don't like it..."

"I've hurt people, Stark... It's a little late to start being a hero."

"Then change your game and do the exact opposite! Let the public love you. Hell, let them worship the ground you walk on..."

"You mean just act like you?"

"Exactly!" He finished soldering a few wires together on the new glove he was working on. They were once again quiet for a while. Sam flipped the TV on and let the noise quietly play in the background so that the awkward silence between the two would be filled.

"So, what were you doing in Miami?" Tony asked and Sam snickered as she then picked up the dart/nail gun that was lying on the bed while watching the TV. Wheel of Fortune was on.

"Let's just say that I happened to be in the neighborhood when the Mandarin came after you..."

"But, I mean you couldn't have been more than five minutes away-"

"Cause I wasn't..." Tony looked up from his work on the taser glove he was working on to her face. She was still toying with the nail gun, pointing it at her face so that she could see down the barrel. She then turned and pointed it at the wall. "I was literally right down the street, staying in a hotel..."

Tony was silent for a moment as he digested her words. Was he hearing her correctly?

"So... You came back to protect me?" She shot a nail into the wall and she smiled with what Tony believed to be delight. She looked back at the gun, adjusting one minor dial, turning the speed up slightly.

"No, I came back because you were being an idiot! Honestly, who threatens a terrorist? You painted a huge target on your back!"

"Apparently, I do-did... Whatever..." She shot another nail into the wall, this one sticking into the picture on the wall.

"Ever since New York, things haven't been the same for either of us..." She stood up from her chair and Tony closed his eyes tightly, dropping his work. His heart began to pick up again and he felt his breathing grow shallow. She had mentioned that _one place_. "And I've just been under a lot of stress lately with the whole saving Japan thing after the earthquake and I was trying to get the Bifrost working... Not to mention that some of my latest slip ups are becoming public..."

"Sam, please stop..." He muttered, his hands going to cover his ears. She didn't realize what was happening and continued her rant.

"And then shit started to hit the fan and I began to lose control more often and-"

"SAM, STOP!" Stark yelled, successfully silencing the woman. She simply looked at him, her eyes wide as she saw how sweaty he had gotten in a matter of moments. His chest still moved rapidly up and down as he struggled to breathe. "I'm-I'm having an anxiety attack..." He admitted quietly, his eyes suddenly closing as he tried to block all his problems out.

The room was completely silent for a moment before Tony heard the rustling of clothing and then he could feel Sam beside him on the floor. "Breathe." She told him as she slowly placed a hand on his back, careful to not electrocute him again. "Breathe."

"I am! I'm-I'm breathing..." He panted, his head in his hands.

"Breathe." Sam commanded again and Tony did so. He took a couple deep breaths and managed to get his heart to beat slower. "Everything's going to be okay. Just calm down!" A few minutes later, Tony was breathing normally and he was calmed down once again. He took a final deep breath before opening his eyes and looked over at Sam.

"You've dealt with panic attacks before?" Stark asked her, seeing how calm she was. She hadn't freaked out at all.

"Yeah." Sam said quietly before moving away from his side to pick up a bag of chips that they had purchased at the store. Both of them were a bit hungry at the time. She opened the bag and began eating the potato chips. "My own."

"What?" Tony asked, completely taken aback by her response.

"The last few months I developed my own type of panic attacks..." She said while taking a seat on the opposite side of the room, her entire demeanor radiating a solemn mood.

"H-How?"

"You know how. Both of us are going through the same shit..." She began eating the chips, now slightly ignoring him. She went to look back at the TV.

"And you just... magically got over them?"

"No. Cap said that he went through the same thing when he woke up. He told me that he just kept telling himself to breathe and I did the same thing. Who would have thought that the simplest of things can calm a raging storm?" Tony stopped for a moment.

"Wait, you met up with _Cap_?"

"He didn't tell you?" She put another few chips into her mouth.

"Uh... _NO_!"

"Oh, yeah. We accidentally met up a few months ago. Where was I? Oh, yeah. I was in Africa at the time..."

"_Africa_? Why the hell Africa?"

"I've got two words for you. Stress. Relief."

"And he just magically found you?"

"I guess. Him, Tasha, and Clint. Said that Fury ordered me to calm down... Like that happened..." She muttered before scoffing to herself and eating another few chips. Tony just sat quietly for another few seconds, mulling over all the information that she was giving him.

"So, were the storms...?"

"Yeah, those were part of my little... _episodes_." She explained and Tony blinked in surprise. He would have never taken Sam with someone who had anxiety attacks. But now as he really sat back and looked at her, he noticed the bags beneath her eyes. Her hair was longer but it was still kept neat. Her skin was even tanner than last he saw her, probably due to the fact that she had been spending time in more tropical climates. She was surprisingly thinner but most of her muscle mass remained.

Sam suddenly laughed. "I've got a new name now, too!" She reached into her pants pocket before pulling out a travel sized wallet. She pulled out what appeared to be an ID before she tossed it to him.

"_Mary Smith_?"

"The most popular first and last name in the United States. Makes it damn hard for S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep track of you when you have a common name!" She smiled slightly before Stark tossed the fake ID back to her. She slipped it back into her wallet before it was returned to her pocket.

"So, what have you been up to? Despite having a reunion with half the Avengers and not inviting me..." Tony teased and Sam shook her head.

"I've just been trying to get the Bifrost working." She sighed through her nose before continuing, her entire demeanor simply radiating her solemn mood. She twittled her thumbs together for a moment, not knowing what else to say. "I-I can't sleep. I don't eat. I haven't been able to do anything since-"

"New York." Tony answered for her, understanding passing between them. He nodded and rubbed his chin before he looked up at her. "So, we better get some sleep if we want to get an early start tomorrow?" Sam slowly nodded before pulling the hood of her jacket back up.

She laid down on her side of the bed and Tony had to smile slightly. It was the same side that she slept on back in Denver. He lay down on the other side, neither of them pulling the covers back and they simply slept on top of the comforter.

Tony stared at the back of her head for the longest of time before he felt his own eyes grow heavy. It was nice to know that Sam was back and that she was right there at his side, where she belonged as his best friend.

* * *

**Chapter 7 is done. Some nice Sam/Tony moments in there for the people waiting for it. **

**So, she's back! Is anyone happy about this? I know I am!**

**Thanks to all who favorited and followed this story!**

**Review, please!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Tony and Sam were on their way back to Miami with a new determination in their eyes. They were going to go get the Mandarin even if it was the last thing that they did.

Sam pulled out her laptop and pulled up the map, showing the estate where the terrorist was supposedly hiding. She also watched the videos of the Extremis experiments. Tony glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye as she watched the man explode before their very eyes, watching as the camera disconnected.

"This is some weird shit..." She muttered to herself as she scanned through the rest of the files. What these people were doing was completely messed up. Rearranging human DNA was sick. It was completely wrong what they were doing. They were making human bombs and getting away with it! What the hell?!

It was a few more hours before they reached Miami and Sam thought it was nice to actually see Miami like a normal person did and not from the skies. Finding the correct address for the estate, they parked about a mile away before they snuck up to investigate just how they were going to infiltrate it. When they arrived at the large house, Sam quietly flew up into a nearby tree with a pair of binoculars covering her eyes, doing some recon.

"How many are there?" Stark whispered up to her as he stood at the base of the tree. She whispered back down to him that their were five guards and one vicious looking canine, Stark nodded up to her and stepped back as she jumped down out of the tree. Coming up with a battle plan, Sam and Tony decided to make their move before more people arrived and things would get harder.

The two of them took off at a sprint, both their backpacks bouncing with every step they took, filled with the weapons that they had prepared. Sam easily vaulted over the wall and she turned back to help pull Tony back over who was struggling. He really was getting old.

The two of them crept along through the bushes, nearly silent before they snuck along and began their assault on the guards. Using his new arsenal of weapons and a little help from Sam, Stark easily defeated the five guards and their fuzzy companion. Tony was a bit surprised at first. He hadn't expected half of his weapons to even work.

When they cleared out the courtyard, Stark made his way inside the house, carefully sneaking around with Sam by his side. She had a determined look upon her face, her sweatshirt hood up and her lime green aviators covering her eyes.

The house was a mess and it appeared as if someone had thrown a party and it had gotten a little wild. Someone was passed out on a table in the room and Sam exchanged a look with Tony who in return shrugged. However, before the both of them proceeded, they could hear voices coming from the next room.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Someone complained. "I told you to put it at 68!"

"My fault again! let me tell you something, sweetheart. I am not your personal-" The man sitting at the table didn't get to finish his sentence as Sam covered his mouth with one hand and placed the other atop his scalp, successfully silencing him. She then let the pent up power in her body out through her finger tips until the man's body relaxed completely. His head dropped to the table with a loud thud and Tony moved into the room.

Reaching around the unconscious guard, Sam picked up the black gun that was lying on the table and tossed it to Tony who easily caught it. Sam shrugged as she continued to look around the room.

Tony must have gotten better with guns over the last six months.

The once complaining stripper on the couch simply laughed before pointing a fake hand gun at the two intruders and Tony raised his finger to his lips to keep her silent. She just laughed quietly before pretending to shoot him. Tony could only shake his head. She was _wasted _out of her mind.

Making their way through the nearly silent house, Stark pulled the taser glove from his hand and let it drop to the ground, his other hand holding the black hand gun before him. Sam crept along beside him, her own hood up. In her hand, she tightly held Chatnir who was constantly sparking as if he were awaiting his chance for his power to be unleashed.

Upon pushing open a pair of double doors, they noticed a bunch of filming equipment lying about and exchanged another look. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Sam took note of the gun lying abandoned on the counter and immediately picked it up before slipping Chatnir into her pocket.

Tony and Sam nodded to one another before proceeding into the next part of the room but not before they looked at a computer screen. It showed images of the Mandarin during his latest broadcast. They had the right place.

Stepping around the side of a board with a large skull painted on it, they spotted a bed with what appeared to be a couple bodies lying in it. Quietly stepping around the side of the bed, Tony crept up to the headboard and pulled the covers back, revealing two scantily clad women who quietly gasped.

Sam simply held them at gun point, prepared to shoot them if they moved too fast.

The billionaire quickly shushed them and Sam's eyes widened upon hearing a toilet flush in the room next door. Exchanging a look with Tony, he hid behind the headboard before Sam disappeared behind a rack of clothes.

"Well, I wouldn't go in there for twenty minutes!" Peering out through a crack between the clothes, Sam's eyes narrowed on the Mandarin as he waved his robe about, trying to ride the area of the smell. "Now, which one of you is Vanessa?"

"That's me!" One of the women in bed called, the other girl pointing in her direction.

"Oh, _Nessie_! Did you know that fortune cookies aren't even _Chinese_?" The man laughed as he failed to listen to the other girl who alerted him to the fact that two people were hiding in his room. "They're made by Americans based on a Japanese recipe!"

"HEY!" Tony yelled as he stepped out from behind the headboard. The man froze for a moment, taking in Stark's presence before he held his hands up in surrender.

"Bloody hell..." The man murmured, holding his hands up in surrender. Sam then pushed the rack of clothes out of the way, revealing herself and her own gun. She caught the man of guard and he turned to look at her. "_Bloody hell_!"

"Don't. Move." Stark warned him. Sam cocked her gun, causing the man to jump in surprise.

"I'm not moving!" The Mandarin insisted, his hands still raised in the air. "You want something? Take it. All though, the guns are all fake because those wankers didn't trust me with a real one!"

"WHAT?" Sam looked at Tony before looking back to the man. The Mandarin then turned to face her and she pressed her lips together in a firm line before looking down at her gun. Out of anger, she raised it back up to the Mandarin's face before pulling the trigger without another thought.

The gun simply clicked and Sam wasn't all that surprised. Out of anger, she fired multiple times, the gun only clicking over and over. Sam was starting to get pissed upon realizing that the gun was, in fact, a fake and she was weaponless.

"You just shot me!" The man cried out in despair partly due to the fact that he was a bit startled that if the gun had been real, she would have shot him in the face without another thought. Ruthless mercenaries, they were.

"Hey!" He looked back to Tony who still had his gun raised at the Mandarin. "You fancy either of the birds?" The two women looked between each other, a bit upset that he would just give them to a man who was holding them hostage.

"I've heard enough!" Stark said, cocking his own gun.

"You can't honestly expect us to believe that you're the real Mandarin!" Sam snapped, still holding the gun to his face despite the fact that it wasn't a real gun. She could still use it as a club.

"Yeah. Where is he?! WHERE. IS. THE. MANDARIN!?" Tony began to interrogate the distraught man who cried out in fear.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! He's here! But, he's not here!" The man tried explaining and Sam's fists clenched and the sparks flew over the leather of her fingerless gloves. The older man sat down on the chaise lounge in the room. "He's here _but_ he's not here!"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, bringing the gun closer to his face even though it was fake.

"Complicat-Hey! It's complicated!" The Mandarin insisted, pointing his finger at the pissy woman who had a hold of his shirt collar.

"Then un-complicate it!" Sam snapped, her temper fluctuating wildly.

"Ladies, out!" Stark demanded, waving the gun in their direction. "Get out of the bed! Get into the bathroom!" The two women clamored out of the bed and threw on robes, protesting the entire way about the smell coming from the bathroom. "Sit." Stark demanded as he walked backwards, locking the door shut behind the two girls.

However, the Mandarin had other ideas and began to crawl away but Sam picked him up by his robe collar at the exact moment Tony looked back at him. Accidentally firing a warning shot, both the Mandarin and Sam jumped slightly upon seeing the bullet hole appear just inches from her foot.

"Fuck, Stark! You almost _shot_ me!" She cursed as she held the Mandarin up with one hand. Tony himself looked startled for a moment before looking at Sam.

"Shit! Sorry!" He said before point his gun once again at the Mandarin. Sam drug him along by his robe and forced him to sit him back down on the chaise lounge where he had been seated before.

"My name's Trevor. Trevor Slattery." He looked between Tony and Sam, offering the female by his side his hand. She raised an eyebrow at Stark before slowly letting go of the fake gun in her hand and reaching out to shaking it like any other normal human being would.

"W-What are you?" Tony questioned.

"Are you like a decoy? Where's the real Mandarin?" Sam asked, her grip on his hand tightening momentarily. He winced.

"You mean like an _understudy_? No! Absolutely not!" He protested and she let go of his hand. Sam then reeled her arm back, her hand curling into a fist as she was about to beat the information out of him. "Don't hurt the face! I'm an actor!"

Sam exchanged another look with Tony who in return raised his gun at the older man before him. "You've got a minute to live. Fill it with words."

"Uh... It's just a role. The _Mandarin_?" He raised his arms in an attempt to make himself appear more sinister, looking between the two people. "See? It's not real!"

"Then how did you get here, Trevor?" Tony asked, bringing the gun closer to the actor's face. He sighed momentarily before laying back on the chaise lounge.

"Um... Well. I, uh, had a little problem with substances and I ended up... _doing things_. No two ways about it! In the street, in a mansion, too!"

"Next." Tony demanded.

"And then, they approached me about the role and they knew about the drugs-"

"They said that they'd get you off them?" Sam asked, not completely understanding what was happening.

"Said they'd give me more!" Both of the Avengers were silent as they thought over the most recent information they were given. "They gave me this palace! They gave me plastic surgery! They gave me things..." The man's eyes closed as he lay back.

So, the Mandarin was indeed not a real villain and instead was a man who was an actor who was paid with promises of drugs and other various types of wonderful things and the entire ideal was a hoax. Great.

"D-Did he just nod off?" Tony asked Sam, his gun still pointed at the sleeping man.

"I think so..." She said quietly before prodding the man in the side with the barrel of her fake gun. "Hey! Wake up, Trevor!"

"Oh! And a lovely speedboat! And the thing was he needed someone to take credit for some accidental explosions..." The man grew quiet and he made a small noise, trying to simulate what an explosion would sound like.

"HE?!" Stark snapped, his lips pursing in anger. "Killian?"

"Killian...?" The 'Mandarin' said as he lay back on his lounge, his fingers twiddling with each other as he looked between what he believed to be the two mercenaries.

"He _created_ you?"

"He created me." Trevor confirmed what they now believed.

"So, like a... custom made terror threat?" Sam asked and the man's head whipped over to look at her.

"YES!" He pointed a finger at her. "YES!" He rose from the lounge and made his way about the room. "His think tank thinked it up!" Sam watched him go, a slight frown upon her face. He then went into this whole speal about the pathology of a serial killer, his voice dropping into what they believed to be the Mandarin's real voice. It was all a bit scary how he could get his voice to fluctuate like that.

When Trevor turned around, he had two beers in his hand. He at first offered it to Tony who shook his head but then he held it out to Sam who shrugged before taking it into her gloved hands before raising it to her lips for a drink. Tony watched this for a moment before frowning.

"Of course, it was my performance that brought the Mandarin to life!"

"Your performance? Where people died?" Tony defended as he sat down on the chaise lounger, still not believing anything that was going on.

"No! They didn't! Look around you! Costumes! Green screen!" Tony didn't seem fazed one bit but Sam nodded her head, the whole detailed plan slowly pulling together in her mind. Being on sets of movies before, she had recognized some of the filming equipment. This looked like a movie set. "I wasn't on location for half the stuff and when I was it was movie magic, love!"

"I'm sorry but I've got a best friend who's in a coma and he might not wake up so you're still going to answer for that. You're still going down pal!" Tony came to stand before Trevor.

"Not to mention that I was almost blown up myself..." Sam muttered as she dug through a box of props, the beer still in her hand. She frowned upon finding a rubber duck that she squeezed, making it squeak. Tossing the duck to the side, she reached down into the bottom and pulled out a battered war helmet before placing it on her head.

Sam was too busy looking at the box of props that she failed to notice the man that entered the room behind Tony. All she heard was a short cry of protest before she heard the smack of a fist hitting someone's face. Her body was partway in a box and she grew quiet upon hearing Tony also grow quiet. Tony was _never_ quiet.

She immediately raised her fists up to her face, the beer falling to the floor in a shower of foam. Her hands silently charging themselves up as she readied herself for an attack. The helmet tottered slightly on her head as she looked between the bald man from Tennessee and Trevor.

"Well, look who it is!" Savin exchanged a look with Trevor and Sam glanced around his body to see Tony passed out on the bed. Well, he was a load of help. She glanced over to her right to see the door that she had entered. Maybe she could grab Tony and make a run for it. "Trevor, is this your friend?"

"Um..." The actor simply held his hand in thought and before Sam could say anything, she felt a sharp sting in her neck before her fist flew back and connected with someone's nose in a sickening crunch. The man behind her cried out in pain and she stumbled forward away from him after dealing a swift kick to his face.

Ducking under a punch dealt towards her by the bald man from Tennessee, she was able to reach Tony's body and she hauled him up onto her shoulders. Sam realized that she needed to get out before it was to late and she got about two steps before her legs collapsed underneath her.

Landing with a hard thud on the ground, Sam's face landed on the musty smelling rug and she felt her entire body grow weak from the drugs she assumed were entering her system.

"Okay, Trevor. What did you tell them?" Savin asked the actor.

"Trevor didn't tell us jack shit!" Sam yelled from the floor, her face slightly smushed into the carpet due to the fact that Tony's own body was crushing her and she couldn't do anything to move him.

"I didn't tell them anything!" Trevor insisted and Sam's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the man defend the two people, who he still believed to be, mercenaries.

"Really?" The man bent down to Sam's level so that she could see him from her position on the floor.

"No."

"Should have pressed the panic button, Trevor..." The man warned the actor who had already picked up another beer. Savin reached down and squeezed Sam's cheeks in his hand.

"Well, I panicked but then I handled it!" Trevor said and Sam rolled her eyes. She tried moving her fingers but she couldn't feel any other part of her body because of the drugs. The only exception was her face and currently she was being felt up by the bald guy. If she could only reach Chatnir who was in her sweatshirt pocket.

"What did you hit me with? A fucking elephant tranquilizer?" She finally asked him after a few moments of struggling to get her limbs working.

"Uh... Yeah." He said, his lips pulling back in a large smile. Sam could only grimace as he continued to play with her face and she felt the edges of her vision growing darker with every second that passed.

"Really?" He nodded his head and she faked a smile before letting her facade drop. "Fuck. You." The man smiled himself before letting her face slump back onto the floor with another thud.

"Oh, sweetheart..." He patted her cheek as she lazily gazed up at him. "I'm going to have fun with you..." And the last thing Sam remembered was the sudden heat from his hot hand on her skin, his fingertips tracing over the smooth skin of her cheek.

* * *

**I love Savin as a villain. I honestly do. He's terrible. **

**And I can't tell if you can tell that I like Trevor. He is seriously one of my favorite people in the entire movie, despite Tony. I want Trevor to be back in the next few Marvel movies. **

**I was seriously laughing my ass off while writing this chapter. I hardcore love Trevor. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed! And to SophStratt: I also think Sam and Tony are great together. Maybe, just for War Machine, I could set Thor aside and have a little romance between them. **

**But then when my Thor 2 story comes out, she would have to relapse for a certain thunder God and leave Tony a broken pile of nothing. Do you really want that to happen? **

**I also want Sam/Tony angsty love but Sam and Thor are supposed to be together and I don't how it would work between them if she's with Tony. **

**Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed and favorited! You guys mean so much to me!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	9. Chapter 9

Tony awoke with groan, his head lolling as he tried to pick it up. It was so heavy and he was sure his nose was broken. The last thing he remembered was turning around to find the guy from Tennessee behind him and then everything went dark.

Trying to lower his arms, the bed he was fastened to rattled violently and he looked up to find zip ties secured around his wrists. "Okay..." He muttered, trying to free himself one more time. Looking around at the place he was in, he discovered that he appeared in what he believed to be a furnace room but he could hear the quiet buzz of computer software around him.

"Just like old times, huh?" He looked up just in time to see Maya slowly turn around in her chair. Pursing his lips, Stark didn't even want to look at her. Traitor.

"Oh, yeah. With zip ties. It's a ball..." He muttered, still refusing to look at her.

"It wasn't my idea..." She insisted quietly.

"Okay. So you took Killian's card..." Tony asked, hurt once more. After all this time, he had actually believed that Maya had been on his side. Guess he was wrong.

"I took his money."

"And here we are thirteen years later in a dungeon..." Tony said as he looked around at the dark room.

"No."

"Yeah." He insisted.

"No. _You're_ in a dungeon. I'm free to go..." She stood up from her chair with a sigh. "A lot has happened, Tony. And I'm close. Extremis is practically stable-"

"It isn't! In the street, people are going bang. They're painting the walls, Maya. You're kidding yourself!" Tony said, trying his best to get through to her. He needed to get out of this situation one way or another.

"Then help me fix it..." She held up a name tag that he had written on in Switzerland at New Year's in 1999. She turned it over to reveal a complex equation on the back. Tony faintly remembered leaving a name tag for Maya the morning he left her alone. But, he wasn't entirely sure. He was never sure about the morning after.

"Did I do that?" Stark asked and hurt shone in Maya's eyes.

"Yes."

"I remember the night not the morning!" Tony insisted, covering his own ass. "Is this what you've been chasing around?"

"You don't remember?" She asked again, not believing what she was hearing.

"I can't help you..." Stark said quietly as he tried to free himself once more. Alright. He had to go with Plan B. Guilt. "You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people. Now, look at you! I get to wake up with someone every morning who still has a soul..." Maya was silent as she contemplated his words. They stung deeply and Tony could see this. "Get me out of here. Come on!" But before she could say another word, a second person entered the room.

"You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favorite of many sayings. The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese!" Both of the scientists looked up to see Aldrich Killian walking down the stairs into the room.

"Not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing are you?" Tony called back to him.

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you! You've given me the greatest gift anyone has ever given me! _Desperation_. If you think back to Switzerland when you said you'd meet me on the roof top, right? Well, for the first twenty minutes, I actually thought you'd show up! The next hour, I considered taking the one step short cut down to the lobby. If you know what I mean..." Killian continued to pace about the room before Tony who was still attached to the bed.

"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the first mouse..." Tony murmured, just trying to pull on Killian's strings.

"But as I looked out over that city, nobody knew I was there. Nobody could see me. No one was even looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Inanity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since, right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. The second you give evil a face, like Bin Laden, Qaddafi, the Mandarin... You hand the people a target!" Aldrich went on to explain.

The Mandarin had only been a cover up so that Killian could do his work without getting caught. Sneaky bastard.

"You're something else..." Tony muttured, completely disgusted.

"You have met him, I assume?"

"Yes, Sir Lawrence Obliviey!?"

"I know he's a little over the top sometimes. It's not my fault. He's-He's a stage actor... Anyway, the point is, ever since that big dude with a hammer fell out of the sky-"

"Thor." Tony corrected, knowing that if Sam had been there, she sure as hell would have corrected him. It always pissed her off when people couldn't remember his name.

"-Thor... fell out of the sky, subtly has kinda had its day..."

"What's next for you and your world?" Tony continued to prod, knowing that he needed to find out Killian's plans if he wanted to stop him.

"Well, I wanted to repay you the self same gift that you so graciously imparted to me!" Killian held his hand up, revealing the three little balls in his fist. Rolling them across the floor, he clicked a button on a remote to reveal a holographic image of Pepper strapped to a stand. "_Desperation_. Now, this is live. The body will decide to accept Extremis or just give up. And if it gives up, I have to say... the detonation is quite spectacular! But until that point, it's just a lot of pain..." Tony's eyes flickered back to the projection of Pepper before he felt like something was entirely missing and as he looked around.

"The girl that was with me? Where is she at?"

"Who are you talking about?" Aldrich teased, raising an eyebrow. He held his hand up again, showing three more of the projector balls. He rolled them across the floor and clicked a second button. A second holograph appeared and Tony felt pure rage fill his entire being.

Sam's head was hung to the side as it rested against the metal brace beside her. She was strapped down onto a gurney like Pepper was. Hardly any clothing covered her body as she lay slumped on the metal brace. All that remained was a sports bra and a pair of black shorts.

"Oh, do you mean her?" Killian teased Stark as he pointed at the unconscious female. Tony watched as she groaned in pain and Sam picked her head up and she was breathing deeply and he realized she must have been heavily drugged to have her as calm as she was.

"Alright, Mr. Stark..." Killian began as he paced back and forth before the billionaire. "I'm afraid you have to chose! Now, they can hear and see us..." He pointed back at the holographs and Tony watched as the two women both turned to look at the man speaking. In Sam's eyes, he could see a pool of rage beginning to boil yet she said nothing, probably too weak to speak. "And you can only chose one, Tony..."

"What do you mean _chose_?" His voice shook slightly.

"It means exactly how it sounds. One gets Extremis. One doesn't." Looking up from where he had been looking at the ground, Stark looked at the two women who mattered most in his life.

Sam finally had come around from unconsciousness and she was looking at him through the connection. Tony Stark never thought, that in his entire life, his heart stopped longer than it did in that one moment.

He had to chose between Sam and Pepper. _Again_. This was just like the argument in Malibu all over again.

"I-I can't chose! What kind of sick joke is this?" Stark stuttered as his eyes flickered back to the two women on the screen.

"Tony, if you don't chose then we will chose for you..." Aldrich said, a sly smile coming over his face. Once again, Tony looked over at the two women, Pepper was struggling against her restraints and Sam was just looking at him. And the look in her eyes changed from rage to one of hopelessness in a matter of seconds.

Sam knew. She knew that he would choose Pepper over her. He could see it in her eyes that she knew.

She let her head droop back down in a defeated manner, knowing what was going to occur in a few seconds. He would choose Pepper all over again, leaving her just as empty and cold hearted as she was before.

"I... I can't... I-I can't choose..." Tony's lips quivered slightly and he could no longer look at the two women. He shook his head before letting it slump down, much like Sam's was. Killian nodded to the scientists on the other side of the connection.

Tony looked up upon hearing a gasp and watched as a man approached Pepper with a large syringe in his hand. Killian looked back to Stark to see his eyes glistening with unshed tears. His mouth opened and closed a few times and he couldn't watch the woman he loved get infected with the deadly genetics.

"Stop!" Tony looked up upon hearing the quiet voice. Sam had her head drooped but she slowly raised it and was looking at the scientist with the syringe. "Leave her alone!" Sam defended the redheaded woman and Tony felt his heart drop again. She struggled in her restraints, her strength nearly returning as the drugs wore off. "I volunteer to take the drugs!" Sam then looked back at Tony, her eyes once again cold but unshed tears glistened in her hazel irises. They were full of bitterness.

At first, Tony thought he had been getting to her. She had started warming up to him again. He shook his head in disbelief as he looked at her. She had made the hard decision for him.

But, no. He had to go and fuck things up again. But that was Tony Stark for you. He was always going to go and make the worst decisions possible. And now, Tony wondered why he had to go and throw everything he ever cared about into the inferno.

"Sam..." However, Tony didn't get to continue as he watched a scientist approach his best friend. Two other men grabbed her arms and forced the needle into her arm. He watched as her holographic form suddenly hissed in pain before spasming slightly. With terror in his dark pools, Tony watched as heat from the Extremis radiated across her visible skin and her back arched in pain.

Tony again struggled against his restraints, trying his hardest to get out of the zip ties just so he can kick the shit out of Killian. What they were doing was terrible. This wasn't reconstructing DNA.

This was torture.

"YOU ARE A SICK BASTARD!" Tony yelled as he tried to rip his hands free. He just wanted to fucking strangle him. He would make Killian pay for everything he had done. For everything that he was going to do.

For making him choose between Sam and Pepper.

Back in Malibu, Tony hoped that he would have never had to make the decision between the two girls again. And he just did.

"And we haven't even talked salary yet!" Killian approached Tony, grabbing his throat and chocking him. The hologram of Sam whimpered in pain, drawing Tony's attention away from the man before him. Tony also heard another cry of pain and his eyes widened as he watched Pepper become injected with Extremis as well.

"NO!" Sam hissed in pain as she tried lunging towards the men, only for her body to be forced down by more restraints that men had placed over her.

"So, what kind of quirk package are you thinking off?" Stark's eyes widened as he watched the man before him glow with heat, signalling that he himself had used Extremis.

"Let him go." Maya said and Aldrich sighed through his nose before releasing the billionaire.

"Maya-"

"I SAID LET HIM GO!" She commanded, holding a syringe of medicine up to her neck. Sam groaned again before huffing heavily through her nose but she was ignored for the moment.

"What are you doing?" Aldrich asked.

"1200 CCs. A dose half of this size and I'm dead." Maya explained, silently threatening her boss as she held the sharp needle to her neck.

"It's times like this that my temper is tested, somewhat..." Kilian murmured back to Tony who was still struggling to get free of his bonds. "Maya, give me the injector."

"If I die, Kilian, what happens to your soldiers? What happens to your product?" She taunted, glancing at the two women writhing in pain on the other side of the holographic connection.

"We're not doing this. Okay?"

"What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot?" Kilian seemed to think this over a bit before turning around to face Tony. Without even looking, he raised a gun up and fired, hitting Maya. She dropped to the ground, her mouth agape with pain.

"The good news is a high level position has just been vacated!" With a whimper, Maya collapsed to the floor and Tony shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe what just happened. This man was sick. This man deserved to die. He was worse than the Mandarin.

"You are a maniac..."

"No, I'm a visionary! But I do own a maniac and he takes the stage tonight!" He called back to Tony as he walked away, leaving Stark alone with his thoughts. Looking to the space where Sam's hologram was last seen, he sighed heavily through his nose.

Sam sacrificed herself for him again. God, he was such a dick.

A few minutes passed before a couple guards entered the room, leaving Tony guarded in case he did somehow escape. Minutes must have passed and it must have hit the hour because Tony's watch started beeping.

Tony raised his head from its hung position, his emotions and thoughts churning angrily in his mind.

The two guards exchanged a look, slightly annoyed with the persistent sound. The one seated closest to the watch picked it up, chuckling slightly to himself upon seeing the Dora the Explorer watch.

"Careful there. It's a limited edition." Tony warned quietly and the man began to shake the watch, wondering how to get the noise to shut off. It was really pissing him off. "Hey, ponytail express? What's the millage count between Tennessee and Miami?"

"832 miles."

"Very nice!" Tony complimented, slightly figuring the time it would take to travel that distance.

"I'm good like that..." The ponytail man told his friend who had stood up and failed to shut the watch off. "Can you stop that?" He motioned to the watch with his gun.

"You break it, you bought it!" Tony protested. The man dropped the watch on the ground before stomping on it with his shoe, successfully silencing the vile little thing.

"I think I bought it..." The other man said, smiling with triumph.

"Okay, that wasn't mine to give away! That belongs to my friend's sister and that's why... I'm gonna kill you first!" Stark threatened.

"What are you going to do to me?" The man taunted back.

"You'll see."

"You're zip tied to a bed."

Moving his hands in the zip ties, Tony hopefully motioned for Mark 42. "This." Nothing happened. Tony tried it again and the bed frame shook. "That." Nothing happened and awkward silence filled the air. The two henchmen stood in preparation for what was to come, taunting Tony. "Trust me. You're going to be in a puddle of blood on the ground in five. Four. Three. Come on! Two..." Tony threatened but again nothing happened.

"How did we get this shift?" The first guy turned to his partner who simply shrugged.

"Alright. I'm going to give you a chance to escape! Put down your weapons and tie yourselves to those chairs! I'll let you live. In five. Four. BANG!" Tony yelled, shaking the bed slightly again. Nothing happened.

"Wow that was cool..." The ponytail guy taunted, glancing around the room.

"You should be gone by now. You should have already been gone..."

"I'm just beyond terrified..." The ponytail man said sarcastically, still causally standing there. He was actually kind of having fun listening to the billionaire make threats on his life.

"Here it comes. Three. Four-"

"Shut up." Ponytail warned.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One!" Tony counted down rapidly and the without warning, one of the gloves belonging to the suit burst in through the window, hitting Ponytail in the face on the way by. It latched onto his hand and he glanced over at the other guy. "Told ya!" Firing the thruster at the man, it spun the bed around but Tony was able to catch himself and he used the glove to rip his other hand free.

Ponytail got up from the ground and tried to attack Tony which resulted to a gloved fist to the face but it hardly deterred the brawny man. Both of them were matching in strength until one of the suit's legs came flying through the same window, latching onto Tony's leg. With a swift kick to the gut, the man went tumbling away.

He then claimed the man's gun before pointing it into the empty air before looking back at the window, wondering where the rest of the suit was. It should have been there by now.

"Where's the rest?"

* * *

It was also at that exact moment that Harley heard a commotion coming from the garage and as he looked outside, he watched as the garage doors rattled as if something was trying to get out.

Taking a key outside, he quickly undid the lock before jumping out of the way as the suit broke open the doors and flew off into the sky, much to the kid's amazement.

There was also a loud whirling noise coming from inside the garage and Harley had to really look for a second before he could see the other suit move but it was difficult due to the retroreflective panels lining the outer layer or armor.

It also flew off into the sky before it disappeared from sight and Harley couldn't help the large smile that pulled his lips up. Tony and Sam were at it again.

* * *

Hearing more footsteps coming down the hall, Tony fired a thruster at the men coming who yelled in surprise before ducking out of the way.

Thrusters suddenly engaging, Stark flew up into the air and was caught off guard, accidentally firing the machine gun in his hand while he spun wildly in the air due to the fact that he only had one thruster on each half of his body.

Catching himself on a wall, he was able to propel himself across the room and he continued to fire at the men who were coming after him. Firing the machine gun, he quickly discovered that he had run out of ammo and his gloved hand was the only weapon that he had.

Rolling out into the open, he fired upon two other guys. The force from the thruster caused him to fly backwards but using the suit's leg, he caught himself before he could smash into the wall.

Landing beside the other gentlemen, he used their own weapons against them and filled one of their guts with lead by using the other man's gun. Also trying to disarm the second man, the first man got up from the ground but Tony used the shotgun from the second guy to rid himself of the first guy.

Kicking his booted leg out, he smashed the guy behind him into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

He now had one gun in his hand, the other a thruster, and sensing another man below him, Stark held both weapons out, prepared to gun down the man should he make a move. To his surprise, he held his hands up in surrender.

"Honestly, I hate working here. They are so weird..." He dropped the gun in his hand and Tony wriggled the glove's fingers at the man who then took off. Tony _let_ him live.

As he turned to walk down the hall, he was tackled from behind and was about to panic when he realized that it was only Mark 42 and the rest of the suit was catching up.

"Ah! Better late than never!" The suit continued to envelop him until he was nearly complete, leaving only the face plate left. The little piece of metal came flying at him. "Not the face!" Tony tried as he caught it before attacking it to the helmet that covered his head. "It is good to be back! Hello, by the way..."

"Oh, hello, sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. greeted him as the suit finished setting up its display screen. Hearing a sudden commotion overhead, Tony looked up to see a large helicopter fly overhead.

He also watched as the Iron Patriot flew off but little did he know that Rhodey wasn't inside.

After listening to a warning broadcast across the PA system about how Stark had escaped, Tony decided that it was time to go. Getting a running start, he tried to take off. "And let's go!" He cried but the suit did not even lift off the ground. "Aw, crap..."

Stark was about to proceed down the stairs when he heard the tell tale signs of a suit and he looked over to see Mark 0 land in the courtyard below him.

"Oh, it's nice to see you that you decided to tag along!" He called to the suit who didn't have a single scratch on her. It just looked up at him with it's glowing eyes, awaiting a command from its maker.

Stark began walking away, completely forgetting the suit for a moment as he tried to walk down the stairs which were about three sizes to small for his booted feet.

"Well, come on!" He called to the black suit which raised its head upon hearing a command. Quickly joining with its brother suit, the black suit simply walked down the stairs without another care in the world. Tony could only shake his head in disbelief. It was like it was a robot or something.

Suddenly, Stark had an incoming call.

"Tony!"

"Rhodey, please tell me that was you in the suit!"

"No..." He panted, just having fought off a couple of guards. "You got your's?"

"Um... Kind of. Main house as fast as you can. I've got somebody I'd like you to meet." Stealing the gun from the man he had just beaten, Rhodey ran off towards the place where Tony directed him.

* * *

**Alright. So, Sam is now infected. Pepper is now infected. Everyone is infected. Woo hoo. I'm sorry that this chapter might be a little sloppy. I didn't really have time to edit it a whole bunch but I'll probably edit it later.**

**But anyway, this chapter was necessary. I'm now considering a relationship between Tony and Sam but you'll have to wait and see if it will really happen. **

**Another really emotional chapter for Tony. Things will only continue to get harder for our billionaire so stay tuned for more!**

**Thanks to all who favorited and reviewed!**

**Love,**

**Blue**

**P.S. Did anyone see Loki crash Comic con? It was awesome! If you haven't, it's on YouTube. Go. Watch. It. **


	10. Chapter 10

"What's this? I had winners!" Tony held up the ping pong paddle as he sauntered into the room, Mark 42 hooked up to a car battery he had found with Mark 0 right behind him.

Rhodey then dove into the room and shot the two guards in the room, causing Trevor to jump awake who had been sleeping in a recliner with a beer in his hand. He immediately took a sip of the cold beverage, resuming what he meant to do before his nap.

Trevor could only look on in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape. "What have you come as?" Trevor asked, seeing how Rhodey didn't have any special suit on. I mean, Tony was Iron Man and he was the Mandarin. It was a costume party.

Also a sleek black suit came waltzing around the corner as if nothing had even happened and Rhodey only glanced back at it.

"You make a move and I break your face!" Rhodes snapped as he pushed the recliner back, pointing his gun in the defenseless actor's face. Why was it always the face?

"I never thought people had been hurt! They lied to me..." He admitted, trying to save his own ass.

"This is the Mandarin?" Rhodes said, looking back at Stark with disbelief written across his face.

"I know. It's-It's embarrassing..." Tony admitted, shaking his head. He just continued to look back at Mark 0 who just stood there, completely unmoving.

"Hi. Trevor. Trevor Slattery." He tried to introduce himself as he had done with Sam but Rhodes only slapped his hand away and the older man felt a bit put out. He was just being friendly. "I know. I'm shorter in person, bit smaller. Everyone says that but, um, hey if you're here to arrest me, there are some people I'd like to roll on immed-"

"Here's how it works, Meryl Streep. You tell him where Pepper is and he'll stop doing it..."

"Doing what?" He asked before Rhodey lowered the hot gun barrel onto his ear, burning the flesh. Trevor cried out in pain before reaching up and grabbing his ear. "Ow that hurt! I get it! I get it!" Rhodey just nodded in warning at the older man. "What about... a _trade_?"

"_Trade_? What do you mean a trade?" Tony snapped.

"I mean what if you got that nice girl to come hold a gun in my face and then I'd tell you what you wanted to know!"

"Nice girl? Wha-Do you mean _Sam_?"

"Oh, yes! Lovely girl, lovely girl! She a model? Actor? She's got wonderful cheek bones, I'll tell you that! She can point a gun in my face all day if she wants!" Trevor laughed slightly before taking another sip of beer.

"Actually, no. She's one of the people that they're hurting..." A hurt look crossed Trevor's face and even this was news to Rhodey. He hadn't known Sam personally but he had heard loads of stories from Tony and saw that speaking about the girl was hard for him.

"Oh, really? I'm sorry to hear that. Such a nice girl..." He shook his head before looking back at Stark. "Alright. I don't know about any Pepper but I know about the plan and I'm only going to tell you because I like this Sammy girl..."

"Don't call her that." Stark warned, taking a threatening step closer.

"Why not?" Trevor asked, his voice rising a few octaves. He was genuinely put out. People were so bossy and threatening lately.

"Because I said so!"

"Alright! Alright!" Trevor held his hands up in surrender.

"Spill."

"You know what they did to my suit?" Rhodes asked.

"What? No." Rhodey relaxed in defeat before Trevor continued. "But I do know it's happening off the coast! Something to do with a... big boat. I can take you there!" He insisted. Then, without warning, Trevor cheered in triumph as his football team on the TV scored a goal and he began to chant the victory song.

Scared the shit out of Rhodes.

"Tony, I swear to god I'm going to blow his face off!"

"Oh and this next bit may include the Vice President as well!" Trevor said, his eyes still focused on the TV. They came in at a bad time. "Is that important?"

"Somewhat." Tony said, glancing back at the black suit that stood idly in the doorway, looking like a complete dingus.

"Yeah. A little bit." Rhodey said, the gun still in Trevor's face. Jerking his head off to the side, Tony motioned Rhodes to come over so that they could speak a little more privately.

"So what are we going to do? We don't even have any transport?" Tony glanced back at Trevor who had opened another beer.

"Hey, Ringo? Didn't you say something about a lovely speedboat?" Trevor could only look between the two of them, his mouth slightly open as he prepared himself for his beer.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were zipping across the open waters in Trevor's speedboat. "I was right about the location. We're about twenty minutes from where they're keeping Sam and Pepper!"

"But we also have to figure out this Vice President thing..." Rhodes said and Stark heard the sudden sound of a phone ringing.

"I wonder who I'm calling. Oh, it's the Vice President!" He looked down at the phone in his hand.

"_Hello_?"

"Sir, this is Tony Stark."

"_Welcome back to the Land of the Living_."

"We believe you are about to be drawn into the Mandarin campaign and we gotta get you somewhere safe as soon as possible."

"_Mr. Stark, I'm about to eat honey roast ham surrounded by the Agencies' Finest. President's safe on Air Force 1 with Colonel Rhodes. I think we're good here..._"

"Sir, this is Colonel Rhodes. They're using the Iron Patriot as a Trojan horse. They're going to take out the President somehow. We have to immediately alert that plane."

"_Okay, I'm on it. I'll have them lock it down. If need be, I can have F-22s in the air in 30 seconds. Thank you, Colonel._"

"Rhodes and Stark out." But little did they know that the Vice President was in on it the entire time.

"Alright. We have to make a decision. We can either save the President or Sam and Pepper." Rhodey said a few minutes after the call ended. Something didn't feel right to him. "We can't do both..."

"Sir, I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak."

"And what about the suit I'm wearing?"

"The armor is now at 92 percent." He ripped the wires free from the armor.

"That's gonna have to do..." However, Tony glanced back at Sam's suit which was still standing completely straight, staring off into the distance. It was nearly useless without a driver and it was really bugging Tony. "What about Mark 0?"

"Mark 0 is at 100 percent power due to the fact that it hasn't been used in 1 day, 3 hours, 52 minutes, and 38 seconds."

"Did I ever install the GHOST technology into that suit, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"Yes, you did, sir."

"Alright, Rhodey..." Stark turned back to his friend who was piloting the boat. "I have a plan!"

* * *

Savin was only walking down the stairs to the lower part of the plane when he heard the flight crew banging on the door that he had locked them in earlier. "LET US OUT!" A woman hollered and he froze. He was sure that he hadn't made any noise so they must have been trying to contact someone else...

Hearing the smash of a window, he looked to his left when he was suddenly blasted in the face by a seemingly invisible force. Scrambling up from the ground, he prepared for another attack from his left when he was tackled form behind by Stark in his suit.

However, as he began to fight back, another suit came out of nowhere and wrapped it's gloved hands around his throat was squeezing the life out of his lungs. Together, they slammed him up against a wall.

"The President!?" Stark asked with his gloved hand raised.

"Where is he?" The other suit asked and Savin had sworn he had heard that sweet voice before when it suddenly hit him.

"How'd you escape, sweetheart?" He called into the more feminine black suit. It didn't reply and instead seemed to glare at him with its glowing white eyes. "I asked how you escaped?"

"Where is the President, you son of a bitch?" The black suit suddenly snapped, squeezing his throat tighter.

"Yup. That's Sam." Tony laughed in disbelief. The software nearly had her dialect down.

"He's not here..." Savin explained before heating his hand up and grabbing Stark's wrist. Applying pressure and heat, the suit began to malfunction and Tony swore that his wrist was going to break. "Try the jet stream. Speaking of which..." The bald man held up a remote that must have belonged to some set of explosives. "GO FISH!" He yelled before pulling the trigger.

There was a sudden explosion at the rear of the plane and people could hear people screaming as they flew out of the plane.

Hearing their cries for help, the black suit responded by letting Savin go and headed towards the passengers of the plane. It was just a natural response Tony guessed but still, he needed help with the hot head.

Bringing his other hand up, Tony tried to hit the man but his other wrist was caught in Savin's hand.

Drawing from the arc reactor in his chest, Stark fired a shot right through the man before him. He coughed and sputtered for a bit before he began to slide down the wall.

"Walk away from that you son of a bitch..." Tony muttered before turning away from the dying man. Following after Mark 0, Stark burst into the room and found that the suit was already flying through the air, trying to rescue the falling passengers.

"How many are in the air?" He asked J.A.R.V.I.S. who didn't get a chance to respond.

"Thirteen." Sam's voice came through the speakers in his suit and Tony almost had to do a double take.

That GHOST tech was scary as hell.

GHOST was a program that Tony had been working on for years but he had never gotten around to finishing it until a few months ago before Sam had left. Basically, the ideal of the program was that the system would learn the dialect of the person that was to be the 'Phantom' and their voice and conversations would be recorded. Due to Sam spending copious amounts of time in Stark Manor, J.A.R.V.I.S. hadn't had any trouble coming up with words and phrases that were recorded under Sam's database. If asked a question, the program would then scroll through the list of conversations and find an appropriate response or answer to any question anpother being asked, sometimes scrambling answers together to make appropriate sentences. The creepy part of the entire tech was that the system studied the person and their personality and then learned to speak almost how the original 'Phantom' would have responded.

In Sam's case, cuss words were of copious amounts.

"How many can I carry?" Tony asked his AI directly this time.

"Four, sir." Tony could only grit his teeth in the suit as he swooped down to catch a stewardess who was falling through the open air.

"Slow down. Slow down!" Stark commanded the suit as he adjusted his hold on the woman. "Relax. What's your name? Heather!?" He looked down at her name tag. "Listen to me. See that guy? I'm going to swing by and you're just going to grab him, you got it?"

"WHAT?!" She called back to him over the roar of the wind.

"I'll electrify your arm. You won't be able to open your hand..." Tony told the screaming woman, the sound already becoming a bit old. Mark 0 followed suit, grabbing a person and relaying Tony's recorded message to them. "We can do this, Heather!"

They swooped down and the woman grabbed a hold of the guy's leg.

"Easy, see? Only 6 more to go! Remember that game Barrel of Monkeys? That's what we're going to do!"

"18,000 feet." The AI warned and Tony watched as Mark 0 swooped by and picked up another two people. They continued to fall for another couple seconds, both the suits catching people as they went. "6,000 feet."

Mark 0 already had all its inhabitants but Tony was missing one. "1,000 feet." They continued to free fall, chasing after the last man. "400 feet."

"He's a chunky monkey. Let's get him!"

"200 feet, sir." Just before the man hit the water, one of the guys on the end was able to snag his foot and Tony hit the thrusters, pulling his group of people away from the water. He then hit the breaks and slowed way down before he released his people and dropped them safely into the water.

Mark 0 successfully copied 42's actions.

"Nice work, guys!" Tony called back to the now safe people who were cheering and crying in joy now that they were safe. "Excellent. Good team effort. All the way around. Go us! Alright, J.A.R.V.I.S. now it's only half done. We just have to get Sam and Pep-" The suit didn't get to finish as it turned to fly off and was hit by a semi truck, leaving it in bits and pieces on the highway.

Tony flinched upon hearing the crunch and was glad he hadn't been in the suit at the time. That would have been messy. He sighed heavily. "That came out of nowhere..." He shook his head in disbelief. Rhodey then opened the door, letting light stream into the once dark cabin.

"Give me some good new, man."

"I think they all made it!" Tony said before dropping his stance. "Yeah, but I missed the President..."

"You couldn't save the President with the suit, how are we going to save Pepper and Sam with nothing?" He stood up and left, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts.

"Say, J.A.R.V.I.S.? I'd say it's _that_ time..."

"The house party protocol, sir?"

"Correct."

* * *

Pepper jerked awake to find Killian standing in front of her in some sort of laboratory. "Hi." He greeted the startled looking woman.

"You think he's going to help you..." She shook her head as she looked around the room before her. "He won't."

"Having you here isn't just to motivate, Tony Stark... It's, um, actually more embarrassing than that... You're here as my, um..."

"Trophy?" Killian could only awkwardly smile and laugh, his eyes not meeting her's. Sam sighed through her nose as she faded into consciousness again, drawing both of their attention away from each other. "And what about her? What do you want with her?" Pepper asked about Sam, motioning to her with her head.

Killian only laughed again before rubbing his jaw. "She's... Well, she's going to be a weapon. And also, she's just a little more _leverage_ for Tony..." He admitted, walking over to stand by her gurney. Sam felt someone approach and weakly cracked open her eyes, both the Extremis and the tranquilizers causing her body to work slowly.

Flexing her weak arms slightly, she flinched when another wave of white hot pain shot through her body and she hissed, her body arching upward slightly. Oh, God. The pain.

This was worse than getting her powers.

"I'll... Never be a weapon for you..." She hissed again as the Extremis radiated through her body. Killian only watched as she writhed in pain, a content smile on his face.

However, the smile fell when he watched the Extremis heat radiated across her skin, only for a trail of blue electricity to quickly follow it. "What the hell was that?" He snapped back to the scientists monitoring his two prisoners.

"I-I don't know! The Extremis is acting like its confused!" One answered.

"Confused? It's a _virus_?! How can it get confused?" Killian snapped, his hand beginning to heat up on her gurney. Sam simply looked over at his hand which was glowing with the Extremis virus. It didn't phase her.

"When I scanned her brain, the empty slot in a normal human brain was already occupied..."

"With _what_?"

The scientists exchanged a nervous look before the first man to speak, spoke. "We're not sure..."

Hearing a weak laugh from beside him, Killian whipped his head back around to look at Sam. She was breathing heavily as she simply lay against the gurney, her skin moist with sweat that her body was pumping out as it fought against the virus inside it.

"What's wrong, Killian? Am I too perfect for your virus?" She taunted and he slammed his hand against the metal beside her head, startling her slightly. She couldn't defend herself with her arms fastened down and even then, her body was too drugged to even move at a normal pace.

"What's keeping the Extremis from taking a hold of your DNA?" He snapped at her, expecting her to know. His face was only inches from her's and he grabbed her face in his hand, her skin hot like she had a fever.

"Like hell I would know..." She muttered, her hazel eyes growing hard as she stared at him. "Anyone tell you to never mess with a God?" Killian only laughed at her silly little threat. "It'll come back to bite you in the ass, Aldrich..." She warned him but he just chuckled once again. Something sparked in her eyes for a moment and then they heard the rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning outside.

The man simply looked back at the woman before him, an uneasy look in his eyes as she simply looked back at him, a dark look in her hazel eyes.

None of them knew it but Sam was silently bidding her time, waiting for when the drugs wore off enough for her to break free and cause all sorts of wonderful chaos. She would make Killian pay for what he did to her. She was certainly sure of that.

And Sam was certain that she had picked up one thing when she was running from Tony and the rest of the Avengers. She had become vengeful.

Unintentionally, her breathing suddenly hitched in her throat and the scientists called out a warning. Killian quickly stepped back, knowing from their observations of her that when her breathing hitched and her heartbeat jumped slightly, a wave of electricity flowed through her system from an unknown source.

The electricity came and they watched as the blue bolts encased her body momentarily, the bolts running up and down along the length of the gurney. With a yelp of pain, the attack on Killian back fired and the electricity attacked its own host.

They had placed a small container of water around her feet for that purpose. She was basically punishing herself.

The current inside her was too frazzled with Extremis to just reabsorb its output and she continued to twitch in pain until the electricity flow stopped. Her head flopped back onto the gurney, her body still smoking slightly.

"You're going to have to behave if you're going to be my little weapon, hotcakes..." Killian said as he ran the back of his fingers down the side of her cheek before standing back and smiling at his two new trophies.

Just then, they heard the sound of a suit landing and looked up to see the Iron Patriot making its way into the room. Sam felt a small spark of hope blossom in the pit of her stomach when she thought that it was Colonel Rhodes but it was quickly extinguished as the President of the United States was ejected from the suit.

"Good evening, sir!" Killian greeted the President as he stumbled out of the Iron Patriot. "Welcome aboard, Mr. President!" And as Aldrich mentioned it, Sam then reached out and she could feel that there was water around them, not the water her feet were submerged in but a larger source of water.

Now that Sam was awake, she peered around the room to see that they were in some sort of room full of machinery. It was some sort of lab. Groaning as she tried to move, getting blood into her weak appendages, Sam rested her head on the other side of the gurney.

"Why did you do it anyway?" Weakly turning her head back, Sam looked at the redhead to her left who had spoken quietly. Pepper was looking at her as well, her green eyes a bit sad as they gazed at the mess of a woman beside her.

"Do what?" Sam asked quietly.

"You volunteered to take the Extremis for me..." Sam turned her head back so that she was simply staring ahead of her and a bitter laugh escaped her throat.

"You mortals are so fragile..." She flinched as another wave of Extremis coursed through her body. Her face scrunched up in pain and she gritted her teeth together. "But, contrary to popular and my own beliefs, I, unfortunately, care about Tony... Even if he is a textbook narcissist at times..."

"But that doesn't mean that you needed to save me..." Sam shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"You're... You're important to Tony..."

"Well, contrary to popular belief, you are too..." The redhead used her own words against her. Sam's head slowly turned to look back at Pepper. "After you left, he was a complete mess. I seriously questioned his sanity at times. And when I did, he said that I wouldn't understand... He-He only said that you would be able to understand..." Sam looked up into Pepper's eyes, a sigh escaping her nose.

"Yeah, we're both infected with the same kind of crazy..." Sam muttered, her lips pulling up slightly in a smile.

Pepper blinked in surprise, not having seen Sam smile in six months. She had never seen like a smiley person before and the only time Pepper had seen Sam smile was when she was with Tony.

"Before I left, being with Tony and the other Avengers was the best part of my life... I felt like I fit in for the first time in a long time..." Another lazy smile came onto her face as she thought about the warm bonds she had formed with the groups of misfits. "All of us, we were wonderfully weird... Together."

There was a silence that passed between them for a moment and Sam hissed in pain again, her back arching upwards.

"I-I needed to save you because Tony needs someone in his life who can be there for him when I can't..." Pepper looked at Sam to see that her eyes were suddenly distant. She was also panting slightly and sweat dripped down her face, making her golden hair stick to her skin. "He needs someone normal so that he can have a chance at a normal life. I'm not normal enough for someone like Tony. But really... I just want him to be happy..." As Pepper watched the girl dump her feelings out before her, she felt some realization come to her.

Sam truly did care about Tony. On a deeper level than Pepper could ever hope to care for her boyfriend. The ginger faced forward once again for a moment, completely dumbstruck by how she had never noticed how deeply Sam cared. She may not have shown it, but it had been hidden all along. Sam cared enough to move back to Malibu to protect Tony. Sam cared enough to fly all the way to Tennessee just to find him. Sam cared enough that she had tried sacrificing herself to save the woman he loved.

And as Pepper lay there, attached to the gurney, she realized that Sam was twice the woman she would ever be. Sure, she had hurt people in trying to get the Bifrost working again but that was only because she only ever wanted one thing. And that was love. Yet, she never realized how much love she held for Tony.

"But, I'm not as important as you are. You need to save the world and-" Pepper started but was interrupted.

"Hey." Sam commanded attention back to herself, silencing Pepper in the process. "As a great man once told me, I've never met anyone that wasn't important..." Sam smiled slightly before facing forward once again.

"And just exactly who was this great man?" Pepper asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Sam simply shrugged nonchalantly.

"He's a friend."

"Who is he?" The redhead continued to press her for information, thinking that it may have been Tony.

"I'm not sure. He had a PhD. But I will tell you one thing, he is incredible but crazier than Tony and I put together..." And there was the confirmation that it wasn't Tony. But if it wasn't Tony than who was it?

Pepper's brow furrowed in thought and Sam took this as a sigh of worry.

"Don't worry. I'll get us out of this mess. Like I always do..." She murmured before letting her head drop back onto the gurney, keeping the whole facade of being drugged in place. And she was. Sam was going to get them out one way or another. Her fingers twitched in the arm restraints and she could sense that Chatnir was close and he was ready.

Sam just needed time.

* * *

**So, I thought up the GHOST thing and I thought it was pretty cool. Anyone else agree? **

**I still love Trevor and Savin also is probably one of my favorite bad guys. **

**But anyway, thanks to all who reviewed and favorited. Thunderstruck has gotten very popular lately. I wonder why. Just kidding. **

**And I'm going back and editing Thunderstruck because when I read through it, I found my writing rather disgusting. Half of it didn't make sense and I realized that Sam's life before the Avengers was pretty dull. **

**So if you want to, go back and re-read it because some parts are changed. **

**And if all my readers could review? That would be awesome! I get a few people who review every chapter and I am thrilled that you do so but I wish I could get a few more reviews!**

**Thanks again!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	11. Chapter 11

Tony and Rhodes parked the speed boat off to the side and had to swim onto the large boat that lay before them. Dripping wet, they hauled themselves out of the water and sloshed around for a few minutes before deeming each other dry enough to move on without being detected.

Both of them hid behind a couple large storage bins, equip with a gun in both their hands.

Peaking around the side of the storage container, Rhodes watched as the crew set the stage for the television broadcast that was about to occur, focusing the lights on the President of the United States who was dressed in the Iron Patriot suit and was dangling from a few chains above a huge tank of oil.

"Oh my God..." Rhodes breathed before laying back against the container beside Tony who was keeping watch on their rear ends. "He's strung up above the oil tanker. They're going to light him up!"

"Oh man. Viking funeral. Public execution." Tony muttered, his gun still raised as his dark eyes scanned their surroundings.

"Death by oil." Rhodey added before exchanging a look with Tony who in return nodded. Both of them rose and scrambled behind the fork lift that was passing before running up a set of stairs.

"_Broadcast will commence shortly. Take final positions_." A message was blasted over the PA system. They came to the top of the stairs and both the boys watched as a few bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a quiet thundering. The clouds above the boat were turning very slowly yet the rotation was still evident in the dark clouds.

Tony and Rhodey exchanged a look. Sam was definitely around.

"Is your gun up?" Rhodes already had his arm raised, both hands tightly clutching the gun in his possession. Tony's wasn't.

"Yup." He quickly raised his arm, holding the black gun in one hand, still a little nervous about this whole infiltration mission. "What do I do?"

"Stay on my 6. Cover high and don't shoot me in the back..." Rhodey instructed as they slunk along in the shadows.

"High? Back? Alright..." Tony waved his gun around slightly, trying to keep both their backsides covered. Someone above suddenly shot at the both of them with a machine gun. Rhodes and Tony ducked back into the shadows before firing at the man, taking cover behind a few crates after completely missing the guy shooting at them.

"See that? Nailed it."

"Yeah, you really killed the glass..." Rhodes muttered, his tone heavily sarcastic.

"I was aiming for the bulb? You can't hit a bulb from this distance!" Tony panted before Rhodes stood back up before taking aim and firing at the large spotting light right beside the man with the machine gun. It broke with one shot and Rhodes sat back down beside Tony, a smug look on his face.

"_All personnel: We have hostiles on East Unit 12_." Came over the PA again and men began shouting as they headed to find the aforementioned hostiles.

"I'm out. You got any extra magazines?" Tony asked after checking his gun to see that it had ran out of bullets.

"They're not universal, Tony..."

"I know what I'm doing. I make this stuff. Give me another one!" Tony demanded, trying to take Rhodey's gun.

"I don't have on that fits that gun!" He insisted, swatting Tony's hand away.

"You've got like five of them!" Stark continued to protest but stopped after a moment, figuring that all this arguing wasn't going to save the two female prisoners. "Alright. Here's what I'm going to do. Save my spot." Tony quickly stood up to look over the grate before quickly sitting back down.

"What did you see?" Tony paused.

"To fast. Nothing." Stark said once he was seated by his friend once more. "Here we go!" He said before standing up so that he could examine the playing field. However, what he saw made him a bit nervous.

"Three guys. One girl. All armed." He dropped back down beside Rhodes. Both of them stood up, seeing that the four hot heads were armed and ready to take them on, their eyes shimmering in the darkness due to their hot internal body temperatures.

"God, I'd kill for some armor right now!" Rhodes said as he looked over the area before them, knowing that they were cornered and outnumbered.

"You're right. We need backup..." Tony muttered, knowing that their odds weren't looking good.

"Lots of it." Rhodey agreed. Tony was looking off into the distance before his eyes caught hold of something. Something _wonderful_.

"You know what?" His friend only looked back at him before Tony nodded in the direction he had been looking. If you looked closely, you could see a few lights flying towards them.

"Is-Is that?"

"Yup."

"Are those?"

"Yeah."

Both men stood and watched with amazement as Mark 8 through 41 came zooming into view before coming to a halt, all of them simply hovering in the air, waiting for a command. And the suit at the head of the column: Mark 0

"Merry Christmas, buddy..." Stark said, patting his friends shoulder as he only gaped at the sheer number of suits before him. It _was_ like Christmas.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.? Target Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice." Tony commanded, smiling slightly as he did so. Oh, yes. It was time for his revenge.

"Yes, sir." Came calling back through all the suits.

"What are you waiting for? It's Christmas!" Tony asked before spreading his arms wide in the motion for them to attack. "Take them to church!" And with that the suits began their assault on the Extremis soldiers but when Stark watched the black suit fly by, Tony pointed at it. "Hey, you! Mark 0!?" The nearly invisible suit stopped and looked at him with it's glowing eyes. "Find your Phantom." He commanded and the suit simply turned and flew off without another thought.

"So this is how you've been managing your down time?" Rhodes asked as they watched the suits continue to fight off the Extremis guards.

"Everybody needs a hobby!" Tony insisted.

* * *

Suddenly hearing yelling and voices coming over the PA system, Sam slowly raised her head to watch a group of people go running out. In the jumble that they were yelling she was able to discern a few certain words: hostiles, suits, security breech.

"Tony Stark, ladies and gentlemen..." She muttered to herself, still buying her time until the opportune moment to strike came. She wasn't back to 100% yet but she was getting close. Very close.

Glancing over at Pepper on her left, Sam slowly nodded her head in acknowledgment before resting back on the gurney. Another wave of pain coursed through her and she hissed.

"The Extremis still isn't taking..." One scientist muttered to another, both their eyes locked on the computer screen before them.

"What are we going to do?" The other asked and the first one shook his head.

"Judging on the rate that it's mutating and the short fuse of the user, I'm afraid she might blow us all to high heaven..." He muttered, both of them glancing at Sam. Initiating her best drugged face, Sam's eyes fake rolled back into her skull. She didn't want to get drugged again.

A wave of heat sudden spread over her before she knew what was happening. Opening her eyes, she watched the fire engulf her due to an explosion that had occurred outside. The ringing in her ears was so loud but she didn't have much time to register that as her gurney was thrown back from the blast and Pepper lost sight of her in the freshly formed debris.

Pepper screamed, along with the rest of the staff in the room and then it was dark.

* * *

"Nice timing!" Tony complimented as Mark 17 landed behind him before it carefully encased him.

"Oh, yeah! That's awesome! Give me a suit, okay?" The suit now completely enveloped Tony, only leaving his face exposed. Rhodey spread his arms out wide, ready to get his own suit so he could partake in the epic battle below them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. They're only coded to me." His face fell.

"What's that mean?"

"I've gotcha covered!" Tony said before flying off, leaving an exasperated Rhodey in his wake.

"Sir, I've located both Miss Potts and Samantha."

"About time!" Tony shouted at his suit before allowing his AI to take control and lead him to the location on the map pulled up in the display screen before him. Stepping into the hole in the side of the small lab, Tony looked around and saw what remained of the Extremis laboratory. Off to the side, he noticed something flickering and upon further inspection, he recognized it as the familiar little orb but chose to ignore it when he heard a groan of pain.

Underneath a pile of twisted metal and other machinery, lay Pepper who was lying perfectly still. Tony decided that it would be best to move it off her. When he began to hoist it off her body, the entire thing began to shift, threatening to crush her.

"Stop! Put it down! Put it down!" She warned and Tony complied, slowly lowering the metal structure back onto his girlfriend.

"See what happens when you hang out with my ex girlfriends?" He teased but Pepper wasn't really buying it at the time. She had had a long day and she really just wanted to go home and take a shower. By herself.

"You're such a jerk." She groaned before lying her head back down on the cold metal beneath her.

"Yup. We'll talk about it over dinner." He reached his armored hand out to her and she reached for him. Neither could reach the other and their fingertips only just brushed. Another thought bubbled to the front of his mind. "Where is Sam?" He asked as he glanced back at the flickering orb, almost as if its other half was dying.

"I don't know!" Pepper insisted. "She was closer to the explosion than I was!" The redhead groaned as she reached for him when a hand suddenly shot out from the metal beneath Stark, taking the suit's arc reactor into its palm. Using its inhuman strength, it threw him backwards until he lay spread on his back after destroying the core of the suit in its palm.

The metal melted away to reveal none other than Killian who was glowing angrily with heat. "Is this guy bothering you?" He asked Pepper who only whimpered in response as he pulled himself up.

"Don't get up!" He told Stark as he sat down on his hips, straddling him as he pressed his hot finger to Tony's chest. "Oh, is it hot in there?" Tony didn't respond and only chose to glare at him. "Stark feels a little stuck? Like a little turtle? Cooking in his little turtle suit?"

"Tony..." Pepper breathed, risking a glance out the hole in the wall. Lightning flashed angrily in the sky, causing the night to light up brightly. Thunder rolled loudly around them as the wind whipped about, howling as it tore through the hole in what remained of the small lab, making the room very loud.

Killian didn't notice but Tony sure did. Shit was about to hit the fan.

"She's watching..." Aldrich muttered, his hot finger still boring down into the metal of the suit. "I think you should close your eyes..." He instructed but Tony only held the glare. "Close your eyes. _Close your eyes_, you don't want to see this!" Killian said and as he reeled his arm back to end it all, they all stopped as they watched the orb suddenly fly across the room.

Hearing the shrieking of metal, a hand ripped through the solid piece of steel to catch the orb which now shown brightly as it sat in the palm of its owner.

The wind and lightning picked up slightly outside but again, it was completely ignored.

Another hand soon joined the first and the metal shrieked again as it was pried apart to reveal a hand that was soon followed by a pair of bare shoulders. The person stumbled from the wreckage, their body glowing an an array of colors. Blue and red were really the more prominent of colors as they clashed on her skin in an internal battle.

The Extremis battled whatever lived inside of her body and neither one appeared to be winning.

"Sam..." Tony muttered in horror as he took in her eyes. This wasn't her normal freak-out-explosion-PMS-cloudy eyes deal. Her eyes weren't cloudy, no, they were _glowing_ in the darkness.

The red continued to flash across her skin, the blue sparks quickly chasing it down and Aldrich chuckled before leaving Tony helpless on the ground with the suit's weight holding him to the floor.

"Looks like my little weapon was finished at the perfect time!" He slowly approached the seemingly peaceful woman.

"I wouldn't-" Tony started but Killian held a hand up to silence him.

"This is my wonderful creation! This is going to be my ticket to world domination and fame!" Tony watched with uncertainty as the man began reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder, Chatnir clutched tightly in her right hand. "And this wonderful creation will get all the credit for killing the invincible _Iron Man_!"

As soon as he touched her, Sam's other hand snapped to his wrist and clean ripped his arm from the rest of his body. Killian howled in pain, cluthcing the place where his shoulder once was. Tony couldn't help but snort through his nose. He had tried to tell him.

Without blinking an eye, Sam began to move across the room as she took sight of the storm outside. She dropped the glowing arm to the floor, her face hard as she brushed passed Aldrich.

"Sam, breathe!" Tony called after her but she didn't even stop to look at him. Instead, she was distracted with the developing storm outside and an eerie smile ghosted across her lips.

Stepping out of the hole in the wall, Sam disappeared out into the blowing winds without even looking back at them.

Killian continued to groan in pain as his arm began to grow back.

"Some weapon of mass destruction you got there..." Tony taunted towards the blonde man and before he could reply, the glowing arm on the floor caused the metal to weaken and Pepper fell down into the newly formed hole with a scream of terror.

Tony quickly ejected himself from the suit before standing and running up the stairs in the lab to see Pepper being hauled away towards a bunch of sharp pieces of metal.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., give me a suit right now!" Stark called as he took off running down a long runway and he vaulted out into the open air, leaping across a large gap. Just as he was about to leap on a suit, a huge piece of metal that was blowing in the amazingly strong winds slammed into the suit, causing it to fly into a large metal beam supporting the foundation of the entire structure. The suit was destroyed entirely. "Oh, come on!"

Tony continued running until he leapt out onto the another beam and Rhodey alerted him that he had the President and that he was taking him to a safe location.

Running up onto the thing moving with Pepper, he reached up to her, ready to catch her. "I gotcha, relax! I gotta! Just look at me!" He called up to her, both of them reaching out to one another again. "Honey! I can't reach any further and you can't stay there! You gotta let go! You gotta let go, I'll catch you! I promise!" He called up to her and he could see the hope drain from her eyes.

Suddenly the entire thing shifted and Pepper lost her grip on the metal she was holding. With a scream, she fell down into the fire below, her and Tony's fingertips brushing. With wide eyes, he watched as the woman he loved fell down into the blazing inferno below.

He couldn't breath. He couldn't blink. He looked down at the huge fire to see nothing but flames and he couldn't believe it.

Pepper was gone.

"It's a shame... I would have caught her..." Killian said on the other side of the beam that Tony was standing on. He felt his rage continue to build inside him.

It was a known fact that he was going to kill Killian now.

He took off at a face paced walk towards him until they suddenly started running towards each other. Killian jumped up, ready to hit Tony but the billionaire slid underneath him on the metal grating below before he continued running off in hopes of finding a weapon.

A suit landed right before him and it quickly encased Stark before he turned and fired at Killian who turned out to be right behind him. The two went into a fist fight, bits and pieces of Stark's suit being ripped off in the process.

Killian ripped off Tony's suit's arm before Tony punched Killian's hand and it broke the man's wrist. The hot headed man groaned in pain before shoving Tony off the platform they had been standing on.

He fell down onto the platform below them and Killian jumped on him, about to bring his fist down into his chest to end the battle.

"Eject!" Tony commanded and the suit launched him out into the open air, only for another suit to catch him. Flying back up to the platform, Tony tackled Killian and their fight continued, pieces of Tony's suit continuing to get ripped off. Killian's shirt had come off, revealing his chest which was glowing from the fire within. Two dragon tattoos adorned his chest and they seemed to be breathing fire as the heat inside the man swelled.

And as they both stood back, trying to catch their breath, Tony silently wondered if taking him up this high was a good idea. The wind blew rapidly around them, huge pieces of steel being carried off into a the large vortex around them.

Tony had been wrong. This wasn't a hurricane. This was huge tornado. And they were in the eye.

As the battle continued, Aldrich caught Stark's foot and was about to cut through his leg when the suit ejected the appendage. Out of anger, Killian whacked Tony in the face with his own mechanical leg. The hot headed man than grabbed a hold of Stark, flipping him onto his back.

Tony climbed to his knees in an attempt to get up but Killian grabbed his arm and took a tight hold on his wrist, causing the suit to groan in pain.

"Well, here we are on the roof..." The man said as he beamed down at Stark. Raising his hand up, he made it glow with heat before bringing it down, trying to cut Tony in half. However, Stark was able to eject himself from the suit again before he fell onto his back on a lower platform.

The longer Tony laid there, the more familiar a sound came to be and he looked up to see one last suit fly through the huge wall of the tornado surrounding the vicinity.

"Mark 42 in bound." J.A.R.V.I.S. warned his master who could only grin.

"I'll be damned... The protical son returns..." Stark breathed before struggling up onto his knees, throwing one arm out as he waited for the suit to envelop him. The suit slowed down considerably the closer it got and before it could land, it hit the edge of the rooftop and broke into hundreds of pieces around Tony's feet. "Whatever..." Stark rolled his eyes as Killian raised an eyebrow in amusement.

It just wasn't Stark's day.

"You really didn't deserve her, Tony. Either of them actually. It's a pity. I was so close to having them both perfect..." Tony glanced around momentarily to see the dark clouds of the tornado flicker with lightning and he knew that somewhere in the darkness of the storm, Sam was waiting, controlling the beast that she had under her control.

Killian jumped down onto the same level as Tony who held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay! Okay, wait! Slow down! Slow down! You're right, I don't deserve them!" Tony protested as he silently glanced back at the clouds which continued to churn uncontrollably. "Here's where you're wrong: They were already perfect." And with that Killian stepped forward to attack Tony who had bent down and directed Mark 42's pieces at Killian, trapping him. "J.A.R.V.I.S.? Do me a favor and blow Mark 42..."

"NO!" Killian screamed but it was quickly cut off as the face mask covered his mouth. Leaping off the platform they were on, Tony slid down a metal beam until he was a safe distance away and he heard a loud explosion in the background, a smirk pulling on his face. The explosion caused the entire structure to shift and Tony leapt out into the open air, another suit catching him and he was sent spiraling away due to the impact of the explosion.

Coming to rest on solid ground once more, Stark simply lay staring at the sky and he watched as the fire was sucked up into the rotation of the storm. Bits and pieces of this suit had fallen off as well, leaving Tony with only his shoulder covered so he was unprotected to say the least. Sudden clanking could be heard and Stark sat up from his place and watched as random pieces of Mark 42 rained down from the sky, coming to rest on the ground before him.

The Iron Man helmet bounced along before coming to rest at his feet. Feeling a sense of dread enter his stomach, Tony gazed at the battered thing before the face mask popped off, revealing an empty space where the head should have been. Tony was able to breath a sigh of relief.

* * *

**So this is only part 1 of the final battle but I didn't want to make the thing one huge chapter. It would seriously have been the end of the story. **

**Nothing really exciting happened in this chapter, despite the fact that Sam went all Extremis/Lightning rage monster and basically has them all trapped inside a huge fire tornado thing. **

**But guess what?**

**I am going to Denver, Colorado tomorrow! I get to visit where Sam and Tony were! Sure, it was just a happy coincidence that happened but I'm psyched!**

**But you know what that means? I won't be able to write or publish any new chapters for about a week. I'm sad. I write to keep myself normal. **

**But thanks to all who reviewed! I love you guys! There will probably only be a couple of chapters left because I don't know what to do with Sam and Tony after this story is done. I don't think I'm going to write a Captain America: Winter Soldier story. Sam wouldn't even have that big of a role in it if I did. **

**This story is kinda short isn't it? It needs something but I don't know what to do with them!**

**If you guys have any ideas, tell me! The help would be appreciated! So, review!**

**Love,**

**Blue**

**P.S. Did anyone get my Doctor Who reference in the last chapter? If you have, yes they met once by accident. If you want, I could write a One-Shot or something of them meeting. And if I did, would you want it to be 10 or 11? **

**Just tell me all about it, alright?**


	12. Chapter 12

Hearing a groaning sound, Tony stared in horror as Killian came stumbling out of the flames, his body nearly black as it struggled to rebuild itself.

"No more false faces..." He wheezed. "You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him! It was always me, Tony. Right from the start. I. AM. THE. MANDARIN!" He yelled before being batted away with a heavy steel pipe. Allowing his eyes to follow along the length of the pipe, Tony was surprised to see Pepper standing before him, her eyes glowing as she tightly gripped the pole.

Tony could only stare in disbelief. "I-I got nothing..." He stuttered out. The sudden roaring of a suit could be heard and Tony felt his heart begin to pick up with panic as he caught sight of it. It was flying towards Pepper. "J.A.R.V.I.S., the subject to my 12 o' clock is not a target, disengage!" Tony reached up to feel that his head set was missing.

The incoming suit fired at Pepper and she dodged it before looking back at Tony with disbelief and rage. "What?" He asked and she began running at him. "Are you mad at me?" Using his knee as a leg up, she launched herself into the air, punching a hole into the suit's chest before dragging it back to the ground.

Sticking her arm into the remaining shoulder, she noticed an unused missile roll out of the suit's weapon hold and kicked it in Killian's direction before using the thruster to fire and the man yelled out a warning before fire enveloped him once more.

Pepper could only pant as she looked at the place where Killian once stood, not believing what she had just done. "Honey?" Tony called from behind her and she turned her head back to look at him before gazing at the huge fire before them again.

"Oh my God... That was really violent!" Pepper said as she swept her hair out of her eyes.

"You just scared the devil out of me. I thought you were-"

"Dead. Why? Cause I fell 200 feet?" She snapped, slightly angry with the fact that Tony hadn't caught her like he had promised. "Who's the hot mess, now?" She laughed slightly.

"Still debatable." Tony muttered, knowing that he must look like shit after a fight like that occurred. Both of them were a hot mess and he suddenly wondered where the third hot mess was. "Probably tipping your way a little bit. Why don't you dress like this at home?" Stark asked, trying to be funny as he put his headset back into his ear once he found it on the ground. "Hm? Sports bra? The whole deal!"

"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits. What am I going to complain about now?"

"Well, it's me. You'll think of something..." He stepped forward to hug her but she stepped away from him.

"No, don't touch me! I'll burn you!" Stark quickly hushed her as he explained that she wouldn't hurt him and that her skin was completely fine. "Am I going to be okay?" She chocked out, a sob nearly escaping her throat. Tony went to hug her, his arms circling around her waist as they embraced in what felt like forever.

A roar suddenly sounded to their side and they watched as Killian's lava like form pulled itself from the ground, taking the shape of a human once more. Pepper screamed and Tony flinched as they stumbled back from it.

"Mine... MINE!" It reached a glowing hand out towards Pepper and was about to reach them when another form suddenly came in and tackled the lava man to the ground.

"Pay back's a bitch, Killian. I told you not to mess with a God!" Both Pepper and Tony were astonished as they watched a still glowing Sam stand between them and the Mandarin. Despite the fact that she was still glowing red and blue, her eyes still were glowing but she was somehow in more control. "Stay away from my friend's you sick son of a bitch!" She growled before tackling him once more, wrapping her arms around him.

Without another thought, she flew straight up into the air with Killian in her arms.

"Sam!" Tony called to her and he watched as they continued to climb into the air until they almost couldn't see them anymore. "SAM!" However, she couldn't hear him and instead continued to fly upward before her and Killian stopped.

As Tony was about to question her actions, a huge flash of lightning rippled across the sky before a huge lightning bolt struck the two flyers. With disbelieving eyes, Tony watched as an explosion occurred and the entire lighting strike lasted for almost 10 seconds.

All was silent for a moment before lightning flashed and thunder rolled again. In the now lightened sky, Tony could make out the form of someone or _something_ falling back down towards the Earth at a rapid pace. Due to the fact that the person held a glowing orb in their hand, Tony could only guess that it was Sam and he quickly looked around to find a suit.

As her body raced towards the ground, Tony remembered his head set.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., I need a suit pronto!"

"Yes, sir." But there wouldn't be enough time. She was only seconds away from splattering onto the hard cement. Just when Tony was about to become trapped in his suit, another came out of nowhere and latched onto Sam's form, causing her to disappear entirely.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Tony watched as Mark 0 landed before them before pulling itself apart to deposit its Phantom before them. Tony rushed to catch her as she fell and he was able to reach her in time before he slowly lowered the both of them to the ground.

Sam suddenly hissed in pain as she regained consciousness and her eyes were clamped shut as she tried to get her breathing under control.

"Oh, Sam..." He murmured as he looked over her body. Her hair was now let free and fell around her sweaty shoulders. The glow from her skin was completely gone, save for a few small flickers of electricity still in her system. Tony could only guess that the huge burn spread across the left side of her body was due to the fact that Killian had exploded, catching her during the lightning strike and causing the damage before him. "Sam..." He murmured again, brushing some damp hair from her forehead.

"The Extremis is gone. The lightning got rid of it..." Sam smiled weakly before coughing slightly, her face pulling up painfully. Tony just scooted closer to her, his battered and beaten hands clutching tightly to her own.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all that I've put you through. I'm sorry that you chose to sacrifice yourself for me. You shouldn't have done that-"

"But I wanted to..." Sam muttered, smiling slightly again. She then winced in pain and Tony watched as her chest moved up and down, always moving slower with every breath she took. Her breathing was getting shallower. "And I've wanted to make apologizes myself. I'm sorry for everything that I've put you through. All the worry I've caused. All the pain that you've had to endure..." A few tears fell from her eyes which were hardly cracked open. Her lip quivered slightly as she lay with her back on the hard ground. "I'm not sorry for being your friend... It had to be the best decision I've made in my entire life..." Tony couldn't find it in himself to try and smile. Not when he saw Sam like this.

"Don't try to talk..." He warned her and she took another shuttering breath.

"I do whatever I want, Tony..." She laughed slightly before coughing again, her eyes closing in pain. Stark couldn't help the affectionate pull in the bottom of his stomach when he heard her call him Tony. It was like she had forgiven him.

When she did open her hazel eyes again, they held a distant look in them and Tony knew things were getting worse.

"S-Sam-" He stuttered out, his hands tightly gripping her own.

"Shut up. I'm not done talking!" She barked slightly, an amused glint shinning in her eyes. "You take care of Pepper, alright?" The both of them looked at the redhead who was simply standing behind Stark. "Sure, she never stops complaining and that bugs the shit out of me but she'll be able to be there for you when I'm not. She'll help you get through the pain..." It was becoming harder to breath and Sam knew that her time was growing awfully short. She still managed to smirk in Pepper's direction who had a few tears streaming down her face. "I'm just sorry things didn't turn out different..."

"No, Sam. I wouldn't have traded anything for it to be different..."

"And Tony before I go, I just wanted-" She coughed suddenly and she struggled to get her breathing back to normal. Her breathing was now very shallow and Tony's eyes began to shine with tears. "I just wanted to say that, you're my best friend. And that I love you, Tony..." She wheezed out, unable to speak any longer. Instead, she could only look at Stark with her dulling hazel eyes. She lay still for a moment and Tony watched with horror as her eyes slowly closed and her mouth fell open slightly.

"Sam...?" Tony gently shook her hand. She didn't move. "Samantha...?" He shook her shoulder and when she didn't move, he grasped her face in his free hand and squeezed her cheeks slightly. Again she didn't move and Tony suddenly collapsed onto her body. "Sammy!" He screamed in agony as grabbed onto her.

"Tony, no!" Pepper gently took a hold of his arm and hauled him away easily, due to the fact that Extremis provided her with inhuman strength. However, Stark couldn't look away from the still form of his best friend, his eyes shinning with tears. Immediately, he clutched onto Pepper, his face burying into her neck and his entire body shook with emotion.

"She's gone..." He sobbed out. "S-She's gone..." Pepper's hand found its way up into his dark hair, her fingers carefully stroking his scalp as she tried to offer her comfort. "She can't be gone!"

"She really is, Tony..." Pepper muttered into his ear, still trying to comfort him. They stood there for what felt like forever before Tony's sobs quieted into loud sniffs. Pulling his body slightly away from Pepper's he wiped his nose before looking back at Sam's beaten and battered form. She couldn't be gone. Not after she had just said she loved him.

Glancing off to the side, Tony took note of the familiar orb who was barely glowing as if mourning its master's death. Stepping away from Pepper, he slowly walked over to the orb, slowing bending down to pick it up.

Stark had never held Chatnir before, only due to the fact that Sam wouldn't let him touch it. But as he touched the cool glass, the glow from deep inside the core of the ball brightened slightly, apparently recognizing Tony.

He didn't know how but Sam and the orb were connected and it seemed that even the little ball had taken a liking to him without him even knowing it. Laughing at the irony of it, Stark rolled it into his other hand before slowly walking back towards Sam's body before crouching down at its side. Carefully reaching out, he picked up her hand and placed the ball into her hand, his fingers closing around her's as he shut her fingers around Chatnir.

Placing her hand back onto her stomach, he bent down and carefully kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Sammy..." He whispered before placing another lingering kiss on her forehead before he stood and rejoined Pepper who wrapped her arms around him.

Together, they began to walk away but suddenly the storm around them picked up and lightning flashed wildly again and they turned back to look at it.

A huge bolt suddenly struck down and connected with the orb on Sam's stomach. Both of the watchers' mouths hung open in shock and another wave of lightning struck and it was a few moments before the light died down. And what stood before them shocked them more than the lightning.

Sam's eyes glowed as she hovered about a foot above the ground in a single beam of light that jutted down from the sky. Her hair drifted around her in an unnatural way and her arms were at her side with Chatnir in her right hand.

"_Tony Stark_." She spoke except it wasn't only Sam's voice. There was a second voice lying underneath her own normal tone and it was a bit disturbing.

"Yes?"

"_I am Ran, guardian of the sea and goddess of Asgard_."

"What are you doing in my friend's body?"

"_I have always been with Samantha. I only occupy her immortal body because this is the only means of me reaching Midgard. This body sustains my needs_."

"Why Sam?"

"_Samantha was still pure. She held a fierce determination but she loved easily and protected all. She was the perfect host_."

"Well... C-Can she come back?"

"_Samantha can never come back. She is in Valhala where her soul shall rest for all eternity_."

"S-She's immortal! She can't die!"

"_That is where you are wrong. Time has little effect on us but we cannot simply cheat death_."

"But... But you're a goddess! You can save her!"

"_Yes, I could but I simply won't. Samantha's soul was once pure but it no longer is. You are the guys of this, Tony Stark. You have caused unwanted feeling within her. Anger. Bitterness. Jealousy. She sacrificed her body to try and protect the woman that you loved but she so clearly hates. Everything that she has done has only been to better you. You are a selfish man, Tony Stark. You only do things that better yourself_."

"I can change!" Tony insisted.

"_You will never change, Tony Stark_."

"If I did change, then I wouldn't be me anymore. It's just my personality!" He insisted.

"_And yet you think that you could change Samantha back into what she was. Back into the girl with the beautiful soul. You mortals are so incompetent. Thinking that you can get rid of the dark feelings you have caused her to form_."

"Then let me at least say goodbye to her..." Tony whimpered as he took a step closer to Sam's body.

"_You are far too late for that. As I said before, she is gone_."

"But-"

"_We must leave this realm and Samantha's body will become part of the vastness of the universe_."

"No... No... I promised Thor that I would get her back to him..."

"_Then you have failed, Tony Stark_." There was suddenly a large flash of lightning that struck down from the sky.

"_RAN_!" Both Tony and Pepper jumped in surprise upon hearing the velvet voice resonate around them. There was a sudden shrieking noise and then a veil of energy seemed to engulf Sam's body, nearly swallowing the beam of light that bathed her in her own ethereal glow.

There was then a second flash of lightning before another two forms joined the three people.

He radiated power and wisdom as he stood in his grand set of armor. His white hair tumbled down to his shoulders and a golden patch covered his right eye. In his right hand, he carried a long staff made of gold.

Glancing over at the two mortals, he simply looked them over before his eyes locked on the form of the woman suspended in midair, her hair still calmly floating about her. The storm around them picked up but after a glance from the man, the winds quieted slightly.

"RAN!" The man hissed again, stalking towards the woman. Tony's eyes widened when he suddenly saw Sam's hair and face change completely before the two forms separated and the dark haired woman floated from Sam's hovering form.

This woman looked older than Samantha and her hair was darker than the night sky itself. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and sky. Her skin was as flawless as silk and the dress that floated down onto her body was as gray and dark as the clouds rotating around them. And she was beautiful beyond words.

"The All Father!" The woman seemed shaken upon this revelation and her her blue eyes, she genuinely seemed frightened. "What are you doing here?" She asked and the man simply frowned.

"I have come because you have misbehaved! Your soul was to remain inside Chatnir as we agreed! But instead, you infect the body of this immortal child and you go against the agreement!" He growled at the woman.

"I'm-I'm sorry, my Lord! Please, forgive me! I have made a mistake!"

"Indeed you have and you shall pay dearly for it!" He raised his staff as if he were preparing to attack her. Panic flashed through Ran's eyes as the All Father raised his staff at her, the sharpened end pointed at her body. "I, Odin, the All Father sentence your soul to perilously roam the universe for all eternity and I do so cast you out!" He stabbed his staff into her midsection and the woman let out a cry of pain.

"NO!" She shrieked and her bodily form began to blow away in the winds as if she were made of sand. Tony and Pepper watched with curious eyes as the grains of sand drifted upwards into the beam of light surrounding Sam's body before they could no longer be seen. The man had also watched the grains of Ran drift off into the universe before he lowered his head back down and looked at the lifeless body of the immortal girl before him.

With almost sadness in his eyes, he slowly walked forward before he came to stand before her. Placing his hand upon her cheek, he had to bend down slightly as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Then turning to leave, he glanced back at Tony who was clinging to Pepper.

"Do you promise to protect her?"

"What?"

"Do you promise to protect the immortal child?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Do you promise to toss aside your selfish ways and care for her?"

"Yes, sir."

"And do you promise to never harm her again, both physically or mentally, and protect her from all the evils of the world to your best extent?"

"Damn straight."

"Do you swear upon all of these?"

"I-I swear."

"Very good." The older man then turned away from them before looking up at the sky and lightning struck again, followed by a shrieking noise and when the light cleared, the old man had vanished.

"But you didn't even do anything..." Tony muttered quietly, his eyes shutting in frustration. When he reopened them, he watched as Sam's body slowly lowered itself back to the ground before her head rested against the pavement beneath her. The storm around them fizzled out rather quickly, random pieces of metal and even Iron Man suits falling from the sky.

The orb in her palm rolled away from her with a clink and they watched as it continued to roll before it stopped when it bumped into a stray piece of metal. Looking back to Sam's body, Tony took a few hesitant steps forward before he jumped back as a third huge lightning bolt jumped down from the heavens. He landed on the ground and his arm instinctively flew to cover his face.

When he looked up, his brown eyes widened in wonder.

Sam's body was once again upright and her arms were spread wide, her head thrown back as she stood there. The two people watched as her skin seemed to heal itself in a matter of moments, the various burns vanishing and leaving no traces of wounds.

After a moment, the lightning stopped and both Tony and Pepper watched as her body then fell backwards before either of them could catch her. Her feet kicked up into the air and Tony and Pepper exchanged a look.

Standing up from the ground, he only glanced back at Sam's body before turning and offering Pepper his hand. She gladly took it and the two of them began walking back towards the road.

"_Fuck_." Both of them stopped at the exact same time upon hearing the word come from the supposedly lifeless body behind them. Slowly turning around, Tony exchanged another look with Pepper before he slowly walked back to Sam's body. To his surprise, she groaned as she rolled over in pain. Her face was scrunched up and she reached a hand up to feel the back of her head.

"Sammy...!" Stark breathed in astonishment before he collapsed on to his knees, her front turned towards him. Immediately, he pulled her to his chest, not caring about her yells of protest. "SAMMY, YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"I'm certainly not _dead_!" She growled as she shoved herself out of his arms, her body falling back onto the pavement. "Well, I was dead but I'm not anymore!" Both Tony and Pepper watched with amazement as she jumped from the ground as if nothing had ever happened. Pepper and Tony exchanged another look. "And I'm almost naked..." She looked down at herself, carefully poking the abs sticking from the skin of her stomach. "I need clothes." She seemed as if she was talking to herself. She then took a step, apparently remembering something. She turned back to face Tony. "And... You told me you loved me back."

"I-I did." He said as he rose off the ground. Sam and Tony only looked at each other for a moment. In the blink of an eye, Sam lept onto Tony, her arms circling around his neck. Tony held Sam against her, his hand in her soft hair as they embraced tightly. "I'm sorry for everything, Sammy..."

Tears were already streaming down her face and she sniffed. "Shut up, Stark!"

"Please, just call me Tony." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple. He was afraid that if he let go of her, she would leave him again.

"Okay, Tony..." They continued to hold onto each other and Tony couldn't help but beam when she used his real name. "So are we okay?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"No. When you're best friends with me, everything will _never_ be okay..." Tony laughed at the last part, pulling back slightly to look at Sam.

"And what about me? Will I be okay?" They both looked back at Pepper who was standing back, watching the two of them embrace.

"Like I said, when you're in a relationship with me, things won't ever be okay!" He laughed again but Pepper didn't seem to be in the laughing mood.

"Actually, that's what we need to talk about..." She muttered, scratching her shoulder slightly. Sensing the solemn mood in the air, Sam stepped back from Tony who wasn't exactly ready to let go so he hastily grabbed her hand.

"What do you mean, honey?" Tony asked as he stepped forward, pulling Sam with him. "Is something wrong?"

"No, there's nothing wrong. It's just that... _that_..." She pointed down at their joined hands. "Needs to happen. During our time in the lab, I realized, after she took the Extremis for me, that Sam is a better woman than I am. You deserve someone better than me. And I think we both know that this relationship has been a bit strained lately..."

"What? Since when?" Tony squeaked and Sam's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"Since she left!" Pepper pointed at Sam who seemed startled to know that Pepper thought it was because of her that their relationship was shitty. "All you've been doing is working on your suits, especially that black one right there!" She pointed at Mark 0 who was patiently waiting behind its Phantom.

"Is this about the Extremis? Because, I think I can figure this out. I almost had this twenty years ago when I was drunk, I think I can get you better. That's what I do. I fix stuff."

"And you think you're just going to _fix_ our relationship?"

"That's not what I meant!" Tony protested, his eyes sliding closed as he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.

"Then what do you mean!" She snapped at him and he visibly flinched. Sam squeezed his hand affectionately and he sighed through his nose.

"I don't... I don't know..." He rubbed his hand over his face once more. "Maybe we should take a break for awhile. You've been really stressed lately, maybe you need to take a vacation..." He muttered more to himself than her. "And while you're gone, I can figure out this Extremis thing..."

"And all your distractions?"

"Uh... I'm going to shave them down a little bit... J.A.R.V.I.S.?" He tapped on his ear, trying to get the head set working.

"All wrapped up here, sir. Will there be anything else?"

"You know what to do."

"The Clean Slate protocol, sir?"

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes." Tony stepped towards Pepper, using his free arm to wrap around her waist. With hesitance, Pepper laid her chin on Tony's shoulder, her hand wrapping part way behind his back. With his other hand, he released Sam's put forced her to his left side, her stance mimicking Pepper's. She was very confused at the moment but yet she wrapped her arm tightly around Tony as her eyes stared at the night sky.

The remaining Iron Man suits suddenly started exploding before them, creating a dazzling display of fireworks. Sam's eyes lit up open seeing the magical colors left over from the burning metals.

Tony sighed through his nose before turning his head and kissing Sam on the temple, the hand around her waist tightening slightly.

"Is it okay? Do you like it so far?" He asked Pepper who was still in awe of what he had just done.

"It'll have to do." And with that, Tony smiled slightly before resting his own chin on Sam's shoulder, his eyes sliding closed in the process. And as he stood there, holding both the women in his life, he realized something. One side felt more... right.

"And Tony?" Sam whispered into his ear as they stood and watched his suit explode.

"Yeah?"

"I still need clothes."

"I gotcha covered, Sammy..."

"And I'm really hungry...?"

"Donuts?" Both their stomachs rumbled at the same time and Sam drew back so they could share a look.

"Agreed."

* * *

**Alright. So this is one of the last chapters of the story. I'll probably only have maybe two more. Maybe one. I'm not sure yet.**

**But anyway, everything will be wrapped up in the next chapter because it will be like an afterward.**

**So review guys and tell me what you think! I love hearing from you guys.**

**Now, I don't know if Thor will be present in this story so some of you will just have to wait for Thor 2 to come out and I can start on that story. And I tell you, it will be intense and there will be a lot of fluff, alright?**

**Thanks to all and review or if you guys just wanna talk, I'm open to PMs!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	13. Chapter 13

_And so, as Christmas morning began, my journey had reached its end. You start with something pure. Something exciting. Then come the mistakes. The compromises._

_The Vice President was arrested and impeached for the immoral justice that he did against our government. Rhodes made sure of that. And don't worry, he got his suit back._

_Killian was, well, finished, along with AIM and its various associates. Research is still being continued on Extremis and is making small but steady advances on a daily basis. You can thank Stark Industries for their lofty donation._

_Trevor Slattery was arrested that very morning as well, having to pay for the crimes he committed as being associated with AIM and the Mandarin. Much to my utter disappointment, I had a... friend borrow some money to post his bail and Trevor now walks as a free man. He now owns his own acting school and is regularly cast in movies as the lead antagonist._

_We create our own demons. But then I thought to myself, why stop there? Of course, there are people who say progress is dangerous but I bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chest full of shrapnel. And now, neither will I. Let me tell you, that was the best sleep I'd had in years._

_Happy was only in his comma another few days before he decided to wake up. Currently, he is still the Head of Security at Stark Industries and is dating a lovely nurse who loves watching Downton Abbey._

_Harley... Well, Harley is a kid and grows quickly but after all the help he gave me, I, and that same friend that decided to free Trevor, decided to give him something back. Not to mention I owed his sister a limited addition Dora the Explorer watch. Do you think a fully stocked garage would cover it?_

_No thanks to me, he was never bullied by the kid at his school ever again, due to a trip that me and my friend took when we acquired his home address. I also let him keep the little weapon, not that he would ever need it again._

_And I can tell you one thing, he will never stop believing in heroes._

_Pepper went on that vacation that I mentioned. And even after I really tried to fix things, it just didn't seem to work between us. And so, I am once again single and ready to mingle. Wait... No, you didn't just hear that. Oh, Lord._

_So, I guess that only leaves one person left in my life: Sam._

_She's been the constant in my life. Through the surgery, she sat beside me in the ICU. Both Rhodes and Pepper even stopped by for a minute, just to see how I was doing._

_Both of us have moved back to Stark Tower, along with the pooch that we retrieved from her friend. I'll have to admit, that damn dog had actually started growing on me but Pepper had insisted that he was a nuisance. He was so happy when he saw Sam again. He almost missed her more than I had._

_He literally tackled her and pinned her to the ground, his pink tongue mopping her face._

_At one point, Stark Tower completely lost power due to remodeling and we had to find a place to live. Naturally, we had thought that we could transfer to one of her homes in New Mexico but that in itself was a problem. It seemed that in the last six months Jane and Adam had become an item and had moved in together. Sam insisted that we leave right away after collecting Duke and all her things._

_Her other home was occupied by her other friends, Logan and Kylie. Turns out that they left the Congo due to the strong hurricanes disrupting the jungles. Karma is a bitch, Sammy._

_And these events would eventually lead us to Cantril, Iowa, standing on the steps of her childhood home. Yes, that is correct. We lived with her parents for about a week. It actually wasn't as horrible as I thought it would have been. Of course, her parents were surprised to see their daughter standing before them, not even having contact with her for two years. Let's just say there was a lot of tears._

_Oh, did I also forget to mention the fact that Sam had brought a _man_ home? This was another first for their family._

_Our stay on the farm was short but epic. Sam's family now has five working tractors on their estate._

_After the power was restored, we returned to New York. Stark Tower was now coming together nicely and I had to give Sam a pat on the back. Even in her absence, she had planned the entire lay out of the tower which made my job so much easier. All that had to be done was the furniture and a few other electrical things._

_But that's not the important part._

_The important part is that Sam changed after what happened in Miami. Her eyes shown in a different light. The dark glint lying underneath her hazel eyes was gone entirely as if the Asgardian goddess had been the one causing Sam to hate so easily. She seemed... happy. Genuinely happy._

_She did talk about rebuilding the Bifrost. I wouldn't have blamed her. She only rarely mentioned Thor and when she does, she just talked about how she had just accepted the fact that they would eventually get back to one another. It was only a matter of time and she was perfectly content with her life. She was in no rush to leave Earth, now that we were back together._

_Sam also continued on with her job as a stunt driver, crashing cars in various movies. Trevor even pulled a few strings and got her a role in one of the movies. Yay for Sam's cheekbones._

_And I might as well mention this now before I forget to do it later._

_Sam and I are kinda... together. And when I say that, I mean _together_ together. Neither of us are really sure how, it just sort of happened. She's not my girlfriend. I'm not her boyfriend. We're just together in a committed relationship. I care about her, she cares about me. We love each other. We talk about anything we want and we do whatever we want. But, we're not really intimate and I never would push Sam to do anything she didn't want to do. But it's okay because I love Sammy._

_And I feel even deeper in love with her when she decided that War Machine is way cooler than Iron Patriot. Take that Rhodey._

_But I'm so glad to have her back in my life._

_Life is good. No, life is amazing._

_But anyway, f I were to wrap this up tight with a bow, whatever. I guess I'd say my armor, it was never a distraction or a hobby. It was a cocoon. Now, I'm a changed man._

_You can take away my house. All my tricks and toys. But there is one thing you can't take away._

_I am Iron Man._

* * *

**Only one chapter left! And I know a lot of you want Thor to come back but you have to wait. This is an Iron Man story.**

** I can promise you plenty of Sam/Thor fluff in the next installment of her story. Please just bare with me!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	14. Chapter 14

Dear whoever happens to be reading this,

I've never been one to sacrifice a lot. But I guess things had changed when I found that Tony had been so important in my life. Even when I thought I hated him, I didn't really hate him. I just hated what he had done. I hated his selfishness but that was just apart of who he was.

But in reality it wasn't even Tony that I hated. I hated myself.

Ran was the goddess of the sea. Of course, it wouldn't be until later that I would learn that she had taken control of my body after I had died.

Stupid bitch.

She had tricked me. But as I lay dead in the midst of fire and metal, I knew what she knew. I knew that she was not a good goddess. She was evil. had helped Loki. I knew that many people died at her hands. She would drag people to the bottom of the sea.

Her soul was sealed away in Chatnir for a reason. And my hate let her out.

My spite let her out of my little ball and ever since it happened, I was never the same. Sure, parts of me were able to creep out at times but other than that, my life was dreary and dark. She must have just been waiting for the right moment. Just waiting to use my body because she couldn't keep a physical form.

I didn't want to be like that. To have so much hate and spite in me. I wanted to live out a normal life and be happy. I wanted friends. I wanted to be free. But all I saw was the darkness.

But then I saw the light.

It came to me in a strike of lightning. There was no burning. There was no pain. It was just wonderful. And I was me again. The tight feeling in my chest was gone as it always felt like I was providing air for two people. But I could breath again.

And I woke up feeling refreshed. I was back. All the heaviness in my limbs were gone. No one was pulling on the strings of my consciousness any longer.

My love for Tony also came rushing towards me. It was like being hit by a ton of bricks and I nearly swallowed my tongue when I heard myself say it. He wasn't the enemy anymore. He was my best friend again. And I found that I could smile. And I found that I could laugh.

All because of that idiot. All because of _my_ idiot.

Now some people say that love is a funny, weird feeling. And I totally agree. It can sneak up on you. It can be standing right before you and you never realize it. You can just trip and fall into it. It can be painful or it can be the best thing that ever happened to you.

But our love is weird.

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

That was said by Dr. Seuss and look how awesome he turned out to be. But he's right you know.

Tony is weird. I am weird. Life is _really_ weird but life's only worth living if you can find someone weird enough to spend it with. Turn's out that Tony was one of the weirdest people I could find.

My love snuck up on me but it was also right before me the entire time. But apparently I'm blind if that clears anything up. But our love is different than what I had with Thor.

First, you have the person that makes you the happiest person in the world. You're different than they are but they say that opposites attract right? And Thor and I are as different as can be. We're from different realms. He believes in chivalry. I believe in swear words.

Second, I believe that Tony Stark is my soul mate. We all have that person who's soul is a perfect match to our own. Tony has to be my match. He is my best friend. And sometimes people have a friend who gets you, right? They understand everything you say and you can communicate just by looking at each other. That's how Tony and I work.

We all have friends and then we have a boyfriend or girlfriend. We have someone who understands us on a different level.

And now all I can do is just wait for my knight in shinning armor to come riding up to me while I patiently wait beside my soul mate. Don't worry, Thor. Tony will take care of me. I can promise you that. And if he doesn't, I can take care of myself. I've done it for almost 6 months without anyone else's help. Well, that's not true.

Maybe a little help.

So, we are now living together again. Duke is back and surprisingly tolerates Tony but I believe my dog does that for my own sake. Mark 0 is the only Iron Man suit that we have so if the world is in danger, we are screwed. But don't worry, that will soon change.

After the surgery, Tony can play hide and seek again which makes the game a lot easier for him and way harder for me.

Also, both of us are actually sleeping peacefully now, in the same bed, I might add. But there is no... well, need I explain? Eww. You people are disgusting. Don't even think about that kind of stuff. Perverts.

When we don't sleep, Tony and I are up late just fixing things. All kinds of things. We by junk on Ebay and fix it. It's actually fun. We've fixed up numerous cars and really I've had the best time of my life with Tony.

I make Tony feel young again and he makes me feel wonderful about myself. He makes me glad to be the person I am. I am back as myself and it feels great. I love the feeling of freedom it brings me to be with Tony Stark.

After all, he holds no authority over me whatsoever.

But believe me, forgiving Tony was hard. I hated, no, loathed, Tony Stark for the longest of times but now we are living in Stark Tower together, picking out new furniture for our home and deciding what to name our children.

Just kidding. I had you there for a moment didn't I? Suckers!

And I know that what I'm about to say will probably piss you guys off but it really is true. YOLO. You literally only live once. Unless Odin favors you and raises you from the dead but other than that, enjoy life while you can.

Live a little but don't be idiotic. Don't be afraid to love. Don't be afraid to hate. Get into a little trouble but try not to get caught.

I am going to live for eternity. You people, sadly, will not. So that is why I am living with my soul mate. Yes, I love Thor. Yes, I love Tony. But the loving is completely different. Tony makes me a good person. Thor completes me in ways that I can't describe.

They are the reason that I am Samantha Greene. They are the reason that I am Storm. They are the reason why I'm a hero.

Sincerely,

Samantha Greene

* * *

**And that is the end of War Machine. The final chapter! It really was a short story but it hopefully helped a few people who had been deprived of Sam. Thanks to all who read the story and reviewed!**

**You guys were great. I wish we could have gotten a few more reviews but that's alright.**

**I never had big hopes for this story anyway... This story was more for my benefit.**

**Stay tuned for Thor 2: The Dark World. Sam will have a large part in that story and hopefully it will be AMAZING. It comes out in November which means that I will have to go see it a few times and then I'll have to find it and get the dialogue down so maybe expect it around Christmas?**

**Plus November will be very busy. November 22 is Catching Fire. The 23rd is Doctor Who 50th Anniversary. The Sherlock Season 3 premier is the 24th. Thor 2 comes out on the 8th. And not to mention the Hobbit comes out December 13th. **

**So yeah, it's going to be busy.**

**Thanks again! **

**Love,**

**Blue**


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